Ascension by love
by RainingLight1
Summary: After meeting by an accident, Kurosaki Ichigo slowly falls in love with the weaver princess. Will they survive the difficulties that are sure to come between their love? Ichihime. Rated T.
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone! As promised, I started a new story! I hope I improved my writing a bit. But this time, I don't think I will be able to update everyday. I am taking four AP classes next year and my teachers are already killing me with summer works. But don't worry! I will not abandon my story. Please read and review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of it's characters.

Musashima was the poorest village of the Rukongai Kingdom. Only scums and filthy peasants lived there who weren't worthy of a decent life. That was the lesson all the students of the royal family and the nobles were given during their young age. The royal family lived in Seireitei, the richest area of Rukongai kingdom. Many nobles also resided in there. While residing in the richest area, most of them never set a foot on the poor areas, like Musashima, because '_those scums that resided in those areas weren't worthy of a royal or noble presence._'

But one noble broke this unspoken tradition. He loved to travel around the kingdom. He was intelligent, curious and loved to learn new things. He was the heir of the Ichimaru family. One of the oldest noble families that lived in Seireitei. His name was Ichimaru Gin. From young age, Gin always wondered about the poor villages. He wanted to see what the villagers lives were like. He wanted to see it with his own eyes. So in one summer morning he mounted his horse and rode to Musashima. Of course, the common peasants never saw anyone from any noble family before and were delighted to see him. They crowd watched him like they were seeing some heavenly being. Out of the big crowd, Gin saw one unique girl. On that day, Ichimaru Gin of the noble family fell in love with a mere peasant Matsumoto Rangiku from the Musashima village. She was an orphan. He kept going back to Musashima to see her and one day he told the Rangiku about his feelings and soon she also fell in love with him. In the meantime, the Ichimaru family found out about their heir's adventure and confronted him about it. They simply told him to never go back in Musashima ever again. But he did go back because he loved Rangiku. He went back there and married Rangiku then came back to Seireitei.

Rangiku saw Seireitei for the first time and was amazed. But her amazement didn't last long. When they went to the Ichimaru mansion, Gin's family was furious. They violently asked him to abandon Rangiku but he refused. They disowned him from the family. They wanted to kill him for bringing shame to the family, but Gin's mother's pleading was able to lessen the punishment. Gin came back to Musashima along with Rangiku and lived like the rest of the peasants. Even though they were poor, they lived happily. In no time, Rangiku gave birth to a beautiful girl with the same shade of auburn hair as her. She named her Orihime. Orihime the weaver princess. Weaver princess because she was from a noble family but fate brought her in the slums and she had to work to live. The name fitted her well. Orihime was the jewel of her parents. When Orihime was six, her parents presented her a cute little brother. He had white hair. Even though their father's hair wasn't completely white, one could tell that Gin played a decent role on his son's hair. Little Toushiro was the cutest baby Orihime had ever seen and she love her brother. Their little family was still poor but still happy. Until that day came.

It was a sunny day. Unlike the nobles who didn't spare a glance at the peasants, the sun seemed to give them its full attention. Everyone was exhausted. And the bandits found their chance to attack. Those bandits were the residents of another village. That day, Gin and Rangiku left their twelve years old daughter and six years old son to be orphans. Their struggle began that day.

Twelve year sold Orihime worked very hard to provide for her little brother and herself. The villagers helped her with the little money they could spare. They helped her by giving her jobs. Orihime cleaned the stores. She even worked on fields. Some days, she had to fast in order to feed her little brother.

Despite all the difficulties in her life, Orihime grew up to be a beautiful, bubbly girl who could put smile on almost everybody's faces. Everyone loved her in the village. And Toushiro grew up to be a genius. Even though, he barely had any education (the village priest _did _teach children how to read and write but it was nothing big enough to be considered as real education), Toushiro was very smart. He learned things ten times faster than other children. He understood things that adults had problems with even though he was just a kid. Orihime wished she could send Toushiro to a good school in other villages or even in Seireitei. But she knew she couldn't afford to something like that in a million year. Toushiro wasn't bubbly like his sister. He was always serious. But he loved his sister very much and was very protective of his sister. Orihime was smart but she was naïve. She trusted people very easily. The siblings worked hard to provide for themselves. Orihime was eighteen and Toushiro was twelve and they were orphans.

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Prince Ichigo woke up from his peaceful slumber by the little sunlight that peeked into his room through the red window curtains (his mother's idea). He moved his hand to his face to shield his eyes from the bright light. 'Maybe the old man isn't going to pull his usual morning shit today' thought Ichigo as he moved to his side to get couple more minutes of sleep. Then he heard his annoying dad. 'I spoke too soon, didn't I?' thought Ichigo as he got ready to shield himself from the kick he will soon receive. Seconds later, King Isshin broke through Ichigo's bedroom door and ran toward Ichigo, aiming to kick him on the face. Ichigo brought his two hands in front of his face in order to stop his father's leg. As Ichigo was holding his father's leg, he used his own leg and kicked his father square on the face.

"OLD MAN! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING? WHY CAN'T I HAVE ONE, JUST ONE SINGLE MORNING WITHOUT YOUR STUPIDNESS TO WAKE ME UP?" yelled Ichigo, irritated.

"My son! It is a father's duty to prepare his son for everything!" said Isshin as he got up and punched Ichigo in his stomach who simply moved out of the way to avoid the punch.

"In case you have forgotten, I learned fighting and swordsmanship from Yoruichi-san and I beat Ikkaku and Kenpachi! I wipe the floor with your ass every morning. Why do you still try to 'prepare me for everything?' said Ichigo, a vein twitching.

"Ichigo! You were only able to beat Captain General Kenpachi and vice-captain Ikkaku because I kept your ungrateful ass in shape!" said Isshin as he tried to punch Ichigo again.

Before Ichigo could say anything back, his mother came into his room.

"Isshin, Ichigo, what's with all these yelling and noises so early in the morning?" said queen Masaki. She was trying to look irritated but she was smiling at the father-son 'bonding.'

"Mom! Can you please tell him to stop attacking me every morning? I am nineteen for god sake! It was already stupid when I was ten but now it's just intolerable!" said Ichigo pointing at his father.

"Aww! My little Ichigo has grown up, hasn't he!" said Masaki as she ruffled her son's hair.

"Not you too!" groaned Ichigo as he went to the bathroom.

A little later, the Kurosaki family was having breakfast. The dining table was large, lavishly designed. It sat in the middle of the ornate room. Many delicious dishes decorated the table. A diamond chandelier was hanging from the ceiling. Three maids were standing on one side of the room in case the family needs any assistance. Hanataro Yamada (the queen's personal assistance) was standing near the queen who was sitting on one of the dining chairs right next to the king.

"Hanataro-kun, have you eaten anything yet?" asked queen Masaki with a kind smile.

"M-My lady, I w-will eat after you are d-done." said Hanataro nervously. After all, he was just a kid. He was undergoing training to be royal assistant in future.

"Please don't call me that, Hanataro-kun. You know how I don't like to be called my lady. Please call me Masaki-san when we are inside the castle. Hanataro-kun and everyone else (indicating the maids) please go eat your breakfast. I am sure you all are hungry and besides I can assist on serving if anyone needs anything." said Masaki with another smile.

"H-Hai my…I mean M-Masaki-san!" said Hanataro then turned toward the door to go eat something in the other dining room which was for the maids and other workers who worked for the castle. The maids also followed him after a quick nod.

"Karin-chan, Yuzu-chan, how is your dancing training coming along?" asked Masaki.

Princess Yuzu and Karin were eleven years old and they were learning how to dance. After hearing their mother's question Yuzu smile and Karin made a disgusted face.

"They are fine, mommy! And I learned this new dancing style on our last lesson, I will show after we are done eating!" said Yuzu happily.

"They are terrible, mom! I still don't understand why I have to learn them." grumbled Karin.

"It's okay, sweetie! I will show you some easy technique after breakfast, okay?" said the mom.

"Thanks mom." Karin said.

"My princesses! They are growing up, Masaki-chan!" cooed Isshin dramatically.

Masaki laughed and the twins blushed. Ichigo also chuckled.

"So what is my son doing today?" asked Masaki.

"I was thinking about going to the dojo with Renji but Rukia is still sick, so he is going to visit her instead." Ichigo said. Renji and Rukia were Ichigo's childhood friends. Rukia and Renji were also in love and they were engaged to each other since they were ten. Rukia was the hairess of the Kuchiki clan and Renji was the heir of Abarai family. They were the two richest nobles in Seireitei.

"Is Rukia-san alright? I haven't seen her in a while." Asked Masaki, worrying about the petite girl.

"That midget is fine. That's what she gets for running around in the rain. She even tried to drag me and Renji along!"

"Onii-chan! That's not nice!" objected Yuzu at her brother's rude comment.

"Sorry Yuzu but she is a midget." Said Ichigo with a smile.

"Yuzu-chan is right Ichigo. That's not nice!" said Masaki.

"Ok! Ok! I won't call her that anymore" _in front of you. _Ichigo finished the last part in his head.

"So what _are _you doing today?" asked Isshin.

"Since I won't be able to spar with Renji, I was thinking of going to visit Chad and Uryuu," said Ichigo. Chad and uryuu were cousins. They were from the Ishida family. Even though they were one of the richest nobles in the whole kingdom, they didn't live in Seireitei. They lived in Karakura town. Uryuu was a smart-ass (Ichigo's point of view) and Chad was a quiet guy who was Ichigo's best friend. He was Uryuu's aunt's son. Chad's parents died in a chariot accident when he was only three. So he came to live with the Ishida family and grew up in Ishida Mariko's (Uryuu's mother) care. So Uryuu and Chad were basically brothers.

"That's nice. They should come to visit more often," said Masaki. "I haven't seen Mariko in ages."

Masaki and Mariko were also childhood friends as well as Isshin and Ryuuken Ishida (Uryuu's father).

"Will you be back today?" asked Isshin.

"I think so." said Ichigo before resuming eating.

"Are you going to take the royal chariot or are you taking Zangetsu again?" asked Masaki.

"Those chariots attract too much attention. So I will just go as a commoner," said Ichigo finishing his breakfast.

"Alright. Have fun! And tell Mariko I said 'Hi' when you get there. Oh and if it gets late, just stay there for the night." said Masaki.

"And give Ryuuken a kick for me. OW! Masaki-chan! I am just kidding!" cried Isshin.

"Thanks mom. Bye Yuzu. Have fun with your dancing lesson Karin." smirked Ichigo knowing his sister hates dancing.

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Orihime was getting ready for work (more like looking to see if she forgot to stitch any other tear in her very old yukata). She worked in a restaurant (if you could even call it that). She hurriedly checked her old cloth to see if a new tear was visible, she quickly exited to the street in order to get to the restaurant on time. Orihime worked there with Tatsuki. Tatsuki was her best friend. Tatsuki's family was also very poor just like the rest of the village. But Tatsuki was a very strong girl. She could alone beat up guys who were twice her size. Tatsuki was always there for her when she needed help. She also protected her from the unwanted attention Orihime always got from the boys whenever Toushiro wasn't around. Speaking of Toushiro, he worked in the fields even though he was only twelve. Orihime knew that Toushiro didn't like the idea of her working so hard to provide for both of them. It was like Toushiro was counting days when he will become a little older so more people will hire him without question. He didn't like to be called kid. Orihime giggled as she remembered how Toushiro got mad whenever Tatsuki called him a kid.

"Hey Orihime! I was wondering when you will come. You are almost late." said Tatsuki. "Momorina-bitch was looking for you."

"Oh. Hi Tatsuki-chan! I was just checking my yukata for any rip. I guess I took too long, ne?" said Orihime with nervous laugh. "Where is Momorina-san?"

"In her usual throne-chair. Where else does she stay? She just sits on her stupid chair and barks order at us. You better go see what she wants before she goes nuts again." Tatsuki said.

Around noon, Tatsuki and Orihime exited the restaurant. Usually, they work till evening but today they had very few customers. So Mamori-san insisted they go home. She didn't want to pay them for no reason.

"That bitch! What does she need all those money for? She lives alone!" said Tatsuki angrily.

"Tatsuki-chan! That's mean! You know how she is." Said Orihime.

"Yeah, I know she is a real bitch. I could've used a few more coins."

"Yes, me too. But we can't really force her to just let us stay for more hours, ne?" said Orihime.

"I guess. So are you going home?" asked Tatsuki.

"Yes. I want to cook something for Toushiro. He had been working so hard."

"Oh okay. I will go home and help mom with the kitchen. She is kind of sick." said Tatsuki.

"Please tell her that I said to get well soon." Orihime said softly.

"Alright. Bye now. And be careful on your way home." said Tatsuki before waving good-bye to her best friend.

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The sun was almost setting. But Toushiro hadn't come home yet. Orihime was worrying about her little brother. He is supposed to finish work in the fields by now. Then why hadn't he come home. What if something bad happened? What if he lost his way home (which is very unlikely)? Orihime's mind was clouded with anxiety so she headed toward the fields Toushiro worked, by the river bank. She was walking quickly at first but soon she started to run. She reached the river back and looked around. She couldn't see anyone. She called for him but no answer came. She panicked more and on her hastiness (with clumsiness), she fell into the river. As she was falling, she screamed before everything went black.

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Ichigo was tired. He sparred with both Uryuu and Chad twice. That had to be some labor. Then without eating anything, he decided to head back home which was a bad idea. But then again, it was late afternoon and he didn't have much time to eat if he wanted to make it back home before late night. So he journeyed toward home. But Zangetsu was also tired. He soon reached a river. If memory served his right then this was one of the branches of the Karakura River. He forgot what it was called. But it wasn't a big river. He got off of Zangetsu and took him to drink some water. By now the sun was setting. Then he heard a noise. It seemed like someone was calling for someone else. It was a girl's voice. 'What is a girl doing here? I don't remember any towns in this area.' Then he heard another scream followed by a loud splash sound. He immediately knew that the girl who called fell in the river. He looked around and saw where the water was splashing and creating waves. He jumped into the water and swam toward where the girl's approximate falling location. He swam through the raging waves and reached the location. But the girl wasn't visible. So he had to dive under the water and after searching around he finally found a hand. He took the hand and pulled it toward him. The girl's body crashed into his. He immediately swam toward the bank of the river. After battling with the waves, he managed to pull himself and the girl to the ground.

It was dark around by now. He couldn't really see the girl. He called for her ('girl') but she was unresponsive. So he did the logical thing. He tried to locate the center of her chest. It was dark and one of his hands accidently touched a soft, large mound and he immediately took his hand back. He knew what that was.

"Come on, Ichigo! This is no time for that. The girl might die if I don't do something." said Ichigo before resuming his work on finding the center of her chest. He tried not to feel around. Eventually he found the place after couple more accidental encounter. He pushed down a couple time and the girl coughed. She spit the water out of her mouth and kept coughing. At one point, she stopped coughing. Ichigo retreated his hands from her chest by now. He didn't need to get slapped by a girl for wrong accusation. And she was breathing fine by now.

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Orihime woke up and heard herself coughing loudly. Hmm… She was looking for Toushiro then she fell in the river. Was that a dream? After the coughing stopped, she opened her eyes. It was dark and she wasn't in her home.

"Am I dreaming or am I dead from the fall if that was real?" Orihime said out loud.

"Hey, are you alright now?" said a masculine voice.

"Who is there? Where am I? Are you the devil?" panicked Orihime. She was so confused.

"Last time I checked, I was still a human. And you aren't dreaming. You really did fall in the river. I swam you out of there." Said Ichigo clearly amused by her questions. He still couldn't see what she looked like but he could make out her outline.

"T-Then thank you. Oh no! Where is Toushiro?" Orihime panicked again.

"Who is Toushiro?" asked Ichigo now understanding that that is the person she was calling out to before she fell.

"He is my little brother. He works in the fields but he didn't come home even after it was past afternoon." Said Orihime. Her mind is clouded with worry again.

'Her little brother works? Does that mean there is a peasant village around here? Hmm… I didn't know about it. Maybe I can stay here for the night and eat something.'

"I think you should go back to your village and talk to the people who work with your brother." suggested Ichigo.

"You are right! Why didn't I think of that? Thank you so much stranger-san!" said Orihime. Ichigo chuckled at her word choice.

"Please call me Ichigo and I think I will stay in your village for the night." Said Ichigo.

"Well.. then Ichigo-kun, please call me Orihime. And follow me so we can go back to the village." Said Orihime getting up then winching and sitting down again.

'Orihime, hmm… that's a nice name.' thought Ichigo but he wasn't about to tell her that.

"Hey! Are you hurt?" asked Ichigo.

"I think I cut my leg a little bit when I fell. It is alright. I think I can walk." Said Orihime as she tried to get up again only to fail.

"You can ride on my horse and tell me which direction your village is." Said Ichigo as he called Zangetsu.

"You have a horse? That must mean you are a rich person. I am not sure you will like our village." Said Orihime suddenly suspicious of Ichigo.

"I am just a commoner from a far-way village. I am sure your village is lovely." Said Ichigo knowing that there is no way he could reveal his true identity.

"Hehehe…You might change your mind once you get there." Said Orihime as Ichigo helped her get on Zangetsu.

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I hope you enjoyed! Please review. It makes me very happy! And also, I apologize for any grammar mistakes.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone! Here is another chapter! I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Bleach. But I am not that lucky or talented. Yay me!

They walked to the village. Ichigo was pulling Zangetsu slowly (he was very sure Orihime've never ridden on a horse before by the way she screamed when Zangetsu started moving at first. She was still holding onto his poor horse quite tightly) and Orihime was giving him direction.

In no time they reached the village. As Ichigo walked toward the village, he did change his mind. This village was much poorer than he expected. He could see many peasants on the dusty streets. The houses were half-broken. He never saw a village this poor before.

"See, I told you that you will change your mind once you see the village." said Orihime.

Ichigo instantly looked back to see the girl on his horse. The sight his eyes met surprised him. The girl was extremely beautiful. This is the first time he is seeing her in light. She was wearing an old yukata which was wet and water dropping from her hair to her cloths. Of course she was wet. She fell in the god damn river! The yukata clung to her body like a second skin. He could see that she wasn't exactly a girl. She was basically a woman. She had long auburn hair which was wet, an angelic face, large gray eyes which twinkled like starts in the night sky. She also had rather large chest. Ichigo looked away with red cheeks. Overall, she looked gorgeous. If he didn't know that she came from this village, he would've thought she was from a noble family. He had no idea when he stopped walking.

On the other hand, Orihime was in total shock. Her savior was the most handsome man she had ever seen. He had bright orange hair and intense brown eyes with hints of bronze. He was extremely good-looking. And he was also wet. Of course, he was wet. He worked so hard to save her and got his own cloths wet. And all she did was thank him once! How rude of her!

"Um..I don't think you should go look for your brother right away. I mean you should change first." Said Ichigo as he started walking again.

"Huh? Why not?" said Orihime innocently.

Ichigo sweat dropped. 'Is she serious or is she just playing with me?' He looked back at her and saw the confusion in her eyes. He knew she really didn't know what men would think if she went to look for her brother in that wet yukata.

"I-It's not appropriate. And besides you will catch cold." Said Ichigo trying to sound serious.

"Oh! You are right. Can you please drop me off at my home?" asked Orihime.

"Yeah, sure. Tell me which way." Said Ichigo and resumed walking.

After couple minutes of walking around Orihime finally told him to stop. They stopped in front of an old house which was very small. It looked like it was about to break anytime. Ichigo helped Orihime get down from the horse's back. He also helped her reach her door but just before Orihime could open it, the door opened from the inside.

"SIS! WHERE WERE YOU? I WAS SO WORR- WHO IS THAT?" yelled Toushiro. "WHY ARE YOU HOLDING MY SISTER?"

"Hey Toushiro-Kun, can you please let us in first. And this is Ichigo-kun. He saved me when I fell in the river." Explained Orihime. Ichigo just watched the little kid. He looked nothing like Orihime. He had white hair.

Toushiro face changed from anger to concern. He knew something like this happened. How many times had he told her to watch where she was going? He decided to save the scolding for later and let them in. Before Orihime could take a step inside, Toushiro quickly shoved Ichigo's hand away from his sister. Ichigo just stared at him.

Inside the house, Ichigo noticed there were only four chairs and a table. Ichigo assumed this is supposed to be a living room and dining room. No couch or other luxury items. People in this village really were poor. He watched as Toushiro helped Orihime sit on one of the chair.

"Ichigo-kun, please sit here (motioning toward another chair), I know it's not much but that's all we have." Said Orihime.

"It's perfectly fine. Hey, kid! Can you go tie my horse to something outside." Said Ichigo as he took a seat across from Orihime.

"I am not a kid. My name is Toushiro." Toushiro said annoyed. But he went to do his job anyway.

When he came back inside Ichigo said, "Your sister's leg got cut when she fell. You should put something in it."

Toushiro went somewhere and got some strange plants to put on Orihime's leg. After he is done Orihime went to another room to change.

"So, who are you?" asked Toushiro. "I have never seen you in this village before. And judging by your horse you are not a normal commoner."

"As I told your sister, I am K….Keuchi Ichigo. And I am a traveler so obviously I am not from this village and that is the reason I have a horse." Said Ichgo trying to make his lies as convincing as possible.

"Hmm… Your story is a little too convincing but I will let it pass for now. So why did you save my sister?"

"And I get an interrogation as the reward of saving your sister? Hmm… seems unfair, eh?" smirked Ichigo.

"Ok. I will pretend that you saved her out of kindness. But why did you bother coming to our village with her? You could've left her there." asked Toushiro again, looking sharply at Ichigo.

Before Ichigo could answer, Orihime was back and this time she was wearing another old yukata.

"Sorry about your cloths Ichigo-kun. You had to get them wet because of me. And I don't really think Toushiro's yukata would fit you." Said Orihime, lowering her head.

"It's alright. It's actually almost dry by now. So don't worry yourself over this. If you can just show me where the village's inn is, I would be thankful." said Ichigo.

"You want to stay in the village's inn? Well… you are not in luck. The lazy inn keeper isn't in the village today." Said Toushiro.

"Just my luck," murmured Ichigo.

"I know! You can stay with us for the night, Ichigo-kun. That's perfect! I know our house isn't much but this way I can thank you for saving me." Said Orihime with a smile.

"I can't possibly do that. I did not save you for a reward. It was the right thing to do." Ichigo said while thinking about his options.

He could continue with his journey but then by the time he gets home, it will be close to midnight. His mother will throw a fit and would always worry about him whenever he leaves the castle again. He hated to make his mother worry.

He could take Orihime's invitation and stay. In that way, his mother would think that he stayed with the Ishida family. Then he can explain. And also he had never been in a place like this. So he could see how things work in this village. His chain of thoughts was broken when Toushiro spoke.

"As much as I hate to invite a random stranger in our home, I would like to thank you as well. So if you don't mind our impoverishment, you are welcome to stay for the night."

"Yes, Ichigo-kun, please stay!" said Orihime.

"Thank you. I will stay here for the night," Ichigo finally said.

"Okay. Now that this matter is settled," said Toushiro then before facing Orihime and yelled, "WHY THE HELL WERE YOU EVEN THERE? WHAT IF THIS GUY WASN'T THERE TO SAVE YOU! AND DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY CREEPY GUYS WALK AROUND AFTER EVENING?"

Orihime sniffled.

"Mou..Shiro-kun! Y- You didn't come home on t-time and I had to see if e-everything was alright." Sniffled Orihime.

"DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" yelled Toushiro. He was thinking about the possibilities that could have happened today.

"Oi! Don't yell at her! It's your fault for making her worry. So why _were _you late anyway?" asked Ichigo curiously.

"Well… I worked more today and then went to buy a kimono for her," said Toushiro, adverting his gaze. "That's why I was la-ughhh why am I even telling you this!"

Toushiro went back to the other room and brought a packet with him. This entire time Orihime was speechless. Toushiro handed the packet to Orihime who made no attempts of taking it from him.

Ichigo looked up to Orihime's eyes and saw sparkly tears shining in her eyes. Toushiro seemed to do the same. The next moment, Toushiro found himself being hugged by his older sister.

"S-Shiro-kun, you s-shouldn't have done this. You see I-I am failing as the older sibling. I am s-supposed to t-take c-care of you. Not the other way around. You worked so hard. You shouldn't have wasted it on this," cried Orihime. Toushiro just held her.

"Sis. You did so much for me. You took care of me by yourself since you were twelve. Many days, you didn't eat because we didn't have enough for the two of us. You did so much for me that there is no possible way for me to repay that. You are my last family. You are my parents, sister, friend. This kimono is nothing," said Toushiro sadly. "I wish I could've done more, way more. If I could, I would give you the world, sis."

"Thank you so much, Shiro-Kun. I am glad I had a brother like you. I wish I could do much more for you as well."

The siblings seemed to forget Ichigo's presence. Ichigo stood there with wide eyes. Any fool could figure out that the siblings in front of him were orphans. And what shocked him more was that Orihime was able to keep both of them alive at such young age. At that age, he learned the royal ways and bossed people around. And Orihime worked so hard to live. Just how strong is she?

The brother and sister came back to their senses that Ichigo was with them. Orihime's nervous laugh brought Ichigo back to the reality.

"Eh-he-he… Gomen, Ichigo-kun. You had to see that. You see, I get emotional very quickly," Orihime say with red cheeks.

Ichigo couldn't find his voice to answer. He just stared at her.

"What are we having for dinner?" asked Toushiro a little loudly after noticing Ichigo staring at his sister. Ichigo instantly looked away from Orihime.

"Um… We have rice and fish. I hope that's okay Ichigo-kun," said Orihime.

"That is more than enough. Thank you again for your hospitability," said Ichigo.

"Shiro-kun, can you please give Ichigo-kun a towel and how him the washroom? I will arrange the dinner on the table," Orihime asked as she took the kimono's packet from Toushiro.

Toushiro nodded and gestured Ichigo to follow him. After washing up, Ichigo once again followed Toushiro to the dining room. Once they got there, they saw plates and chopsticks laid on the table. There was a large pot of rice, steam coming out if it and another smaller pot of fish-curry. Orihime wasn't there.

"Oi! Sis! We are starving! Where are you," Toushiro yelled.

"Coming!" came a soft reply from a nearby room.

Toushiro turned toward Ichigo to talk about the sleeping arrangement.

"Since, we have two rooms, you will be staying in my room. I will ask sis to bring another futon in there," Toushiro said. But Ichigo wasn't listening. His eyes were fixed on Orihime's approaching figure. Toushiro also followed his gaze and looked at Orihime.

When Ichigo said Orihime was gorgeous, he was mistaking. Orihime was beyond gorgeous. She was wearing a light blue kimono with flower pattern on it. The flowers were larger toward her feet and knee and they became smaller toward the top half of her body. The flowers were different shades of pink. Each flowers were different in shape. She was wearing a bright yellow obi which had blue flower patterns. Orihime's beautiful, long auburn hair was slightly held up. She was wearing two hairclips which seemed to glow. She also put a pink flower on her hair. Orihime was beautiful. She looked like a goddess in such simple kimono. She had an innocent, heavenly aura around her. Ichigo had to admit that she is the most beautiful girl he had ever seen besides his mother.

Orihime seemed to be oblivious of how beautiful she looked. She walked up to where Ichigo and Toushiro were sitting and said,

"I thought I would try it on and see how I look! Um… do I look bad in this?" asked Orihime innocently.

"Sis! You look amazing! And Ichigo-san, if you keep staring at my sister, I will hit you," said Toushiro warningly. Orihime blushed bright red and Ichigo coughed with hint of red in his cheeks.

"Y-You look good," that was the only thing he could say. Orihime blushed even more.

"T-Thank you. Ano.. Let's start eating," said Orihime.

When Ichigo brought the food to his mouth, he was in for another surprise. The food tasted amazing. It was such a simple dish. Only rice and fish-curry. But it tasted so good! It tasted much better than other expensive foods he ate.

"The food is delicious. Thank you," said Ichigo as he ate.

"You're welcome. I apologize again for such simple dish," said Orihime.

"I really was serious when I said it's more than enough. Your food tastes amazing!" said Ichigo with a smile.

"Thank you," Orihime blushed. She wasn't used to being complemented by someone other than Toushiro.

After dinner, Orihime set up Ichigo's futon in Toushiro's room. Orihime suggested that Ichigo should stay in her room and she could stay in the living room. But Toushiro strongly said that he needed to keep watch on Ichigo in case, he decided to do something stupid like peeking on his sister while she slept. Orihime also noticed how Ichigo's vein twitched at that. She giggled. Both Ichigo and Toushiro went to sleep but Orihime couldn't sleep. She didn't change her kimono. Orihime walked back in the living room and stared outside through the window. He noticed how bright the moon was. She could see lots of stars twinkling in the sky.

Those stars always reminded her of her parents. Ironically, her parents always told her that she was their star when they were alive. Looking at the stars bring back memories. Orihime always tried to imagine how her life would be now if her parents were alive. She knew they would still be poor. But if her parents really were alive, she would've had more people to love and have more people love her. Maybe with the combine effort of herself and her parents, Toushiro could've been able to go to a good school in Karakura or somewhere else. He would come home when the school is closed and they could stay up all night, talking about his school and things that happened in Musashima. Their mother would smile at them kindly and tell them to go to sleep, that there is always tomorrow and their father would chuckle and tell their mom to leave them alone. Then Toushiro would get a good job in the royal council or somewhere important and then he would marry a beautiful girl. In the meantime, she could take care of her parents. They could've been a happily family they once were. But now…involuntarily tears fell from her eyes.

'Mom, dad, I miss you all the time. I wish you could see Toushiro growing up. Oh, I almost forgot! Today, I almost died. But Ichigo-kun was there and saved me. I don't know how to thank him. I-I wish you were here with me. But I know you are always watching over us.' Orihime smiled sadly. She really did miss her parents. More tears fell. Then she suddenly heard a cough behind her.

Orihime turned to see Ichigo standing behind her. She quickly got rid of any evidence of her tear. She just hoped he didn't see her tears. He didn't want him to see her crying again.

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Ichigo couldn't sleep. He thought about everything that happened today. Orihime's face kept appearing every time he closed his eyes. Sleep wouldn't come. So he decided to go to drink some water. When he got up from his futon, he heard,

"Oi! Where are you going?"

"I am going to drink some water. I can't sleep," Ichigo answered, irritated by the nosy brat.

"Fine, but if you dare to peek in my sister's room, I will kill you," said Toushiro.

"Huh! As if you can do that! But rest assured, I am not a pervert. Even though your sister is very tempting, I know how to control myself," said Ichigo with a smirk.

Before Toushiro could say anything, Ichigo exited the room. He just said that to make Toushiro irritated. He was certain Toushiro knew that he was just saying that to make him mad. Ichigo could hear a faint "Baka" as he walked toward the dining table to get water. When he walked into the dining room, he saw someone near the window. He knew it was Orihime (Who else would it be? Toushiro was in the other room).

He stood there for a couple minutes, appreciating Orihime's beauty. In the moonlight, she looked like an angel. He noticed that she still wore the Kimono. After couple more minutes, he coughed.

He saw Orihime quickly turning to face him, probably surprised. Ichigo was shocked to see that Orihime was crying. Though, she quickly dried her eyes. She probably didn't want him to see her crying. Not probably, the correct word is definitely. She definitely didn't want him to see her crying. She hurriedly forced a smile. Ichigo decided not to question her.

"I see. You couldn't sleep either huh? I thought I was the only one," said Ichigo.

"I-Ichigo-kun! Y-You couldn't s-sleep? O-Oh…um do Y-You couldn't s-sleep? O-Oh…um do y-you n-need anything?" asked Orihime, mentally kicking herself for making a complete fool out of herself in front of Ichigo.

"Actually, I was thirsty but now I want watch the stars with you, if that isn't too much to ask," said Ichigo as he came to stand next to her.

"O-Of course! But I will get you some w-water first," Orihime said. She didn't expect him to say that. She brought a glass of water and gave it to him. By now, Ichigo brought two chairs to the window and was sitting on one. Orihime walked up to him and handed the glass of water to him. Ichigo gestured her to sit on the chair next to her. She first looked at him quizzically then sat.

Ichigo just drank the water quietly. Then after a long silence, he said,

"You really are strong."

Orihime's eyes widened. What was he talking about? Why did he call her strong? She isn't strong! She cried in front and not just once. Confusion was written all over her face.

"I-Ichigo-kun, what are you s-saying?" Orihime asked.

"I know I will never understand what you have been through, but I can tell that you had to struggle and you still are struggling to survive. You and Toushiro became alone when you were twelve. Yet you were able to hold on to the child-like innocence in you. Just as I said before, you really are strong."

"Thank you, Ichigo-kun. But I am not strong. I cry a lot. See, I am crying again," said Orihime as she was trying to dry her tears.

"Orihime, crying doesn't make a person weak. It only proves that you are a human. Don't ever say that again," ordered Ichigo with a smile.

Orihime's face lit up instantly. She wasn't crying anymore. She said,

"Thank you again, Ichigo-kun. It seems like as I am spending more time with you, I am being more on your debt. And all I can say is 'thanks'. I wish I could do more to pay my debt. Please ask me if you need anything. If it is within my reach, I promise I will do it for you. I honestly don't think I will ever be able to repay you for everything you have done for me," said Orihime, her face lowered again.

Ichigo noticed how she didn't look at him. He said nothing. Without thinking he put two of his fingers under her chin and forced her to look at him. Orihime was shocked beyond words. She was speechless. She couldn't understand what Ichigo was doing. Ichigo himself didn't know what he was doing. He saw a strand of hair falling on her face. He took his fingers from under her chin and gently tucked the loose strand of hair behind her ear. He stared deep into her gray eyes. He seemed to be in a daze. He was leaning toward her. Then he seemed to be aware of his surroundings suddenly.

'What the fuck am I doing?' he thought. Orihime was still looking at him with shocked wide eyes.

"I am sleepy. I better go to sleep now," Ichigo said before leaving a still stunned Orihime behind.

Ichigo practically ran to Toushiro's room. He just hoped Toushiro wasn't still awake. He really didn't feel like answering what took him so long. He quietly slipped back into his futon. Looks like Toushiro did fall asleep. Even if he didn't fall asleep, he still didn't say anything. And Ichigo was thanking Kami for that.

Now he had more time to think over what just happened. His heart was still beating faster than normal. If he didn't come to his senses when he did, he would've kissed Orihime. That much was clear. What made him want that? Was it her angelic beauty? Or her innocence? Or the fact that she struggled so much and still is just to survive? Her kindness? Or a mixture of all? Yeah a mixture of all made sense or did it? He just met her today. Was he already attracted to her? Him, Kurosaki Ichigo was attracted to a girl? Nothing made sense these days. Ichigo didn't know when he fell asleep.

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Orihime's heart felt like it is about to explode. It was beating so fast and loudly. Was Ichigo-kun really about to kiss her? Was she dreaming all these? But it didn't feel like a dream though. Ichigo-kun _was _really close to her, wasn't he? He looked so handsome. And he said she was strong. She knew that he was aware of the fact that she was crying. But he didn't question her about that. He comforted her. She knew he was from a rich family. But he complemented on her cooking. He didn't flinch away when he saw their house. He was so kind. He was a great person. She just wished tomorrow there won't be any awkwardness between them. Orihime walked to her bedroom and after changing her kimono, she went to sleep.

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Please review.

And I bet you all thought something terrible happened to Toushiro, eh? I wanted it to be like that too. But then I figured most people will already think that. So that is why I made it like this.

I wish I could draw. Then I would draw Orihime's kimono and could share with everyone. But my drawing looks like well.. nothing. So I hope you could picture it based on my lame description.

Oh and before I forget! Thank you for reading and special thanks to...

**SkySamuraiGirl**: I am glad you liked it! :) Here is your update!

**Ermilus**: I am glad!

**FuckLoveXD**: Thank you! Here is your chapter!

**Guests**: Thank you!

See you soon!

Raininglight~


	3. Chapter 3

Hello everyone! Got chapter three for you all. I hope I did a decent job but knowing me... I will not finish that sentence. Anyway, please read and review.

Disclaimer: Bleach owned by Kubo Tite and my laptop owned by me.

Ichigo opened his eyes to see bright morning and he was lying on a futon. HE WAS LYING ON A FUTON! But that means he really did almost kiss Orihime and everything was real. Not a dream. He looked around and saw no trace of Toushiro. Even his futon wasn't on the floor. Ichigo got up and walked to the living room. Orihime was dusting the dining table. And Toushiro was just sitting on one of the chairs. When Orihime saw Ichigo she greeted him.

"G-Good morning, Ichigo-kun," she said, stuttering a little. She still didn't know how to greet him after last night.

"Good morning, Orihime. I am sorry, I woke up late," said Ichigo scratching the back of his neck.

"Oh! It's no problem! Actually it's not late at all. We just wake up early," said Orihime, glad that there isn't any awkwardness after last night.

"Still, you should've waked me up. And Toushiro! You could've done that. I mean you were in the same room," said Ichigo dramatically.

"It's not my fault you are a lazy-ass. I did call you but looked like you were dead," said Toushiro looking irritated.

"Why you!" Ichigo's eye twitched.

"Hey. Hey. You two. Ichigo-kun, it really isn't a big deal that you woke up later than us. And Shiro-kun! That was mean!" pouted Orihime.

"Yeah. Yeah. So what's for breakfast?" asked Toushiro.

"Well. I made rice porridge. I hope it tastes ok," Orihime said, her finger on her chin.

"I am sure it tastes amazing. And who cares about if that baka likes it or not," said Toushiro trying to annoy Ichigo.

"You brat!" Ichigo yelled.

"Mou..You two!" Orihime pouted again.

"Don't worry, Orihime. I am sure it tastes just as good as last night's dinner," Ichigo said smiling at Orihime.

"Oi! Don't smile at my sister like that, you strawberry," said Toushiro, now his eyes twitching.

"Brat! You are asking for it," Ichigo raised his arm in emphasis.

"Well….you two can argue. I am eating my breakfast," said Orihime sneakily, trying to get the two males to stop arguing.

Both Ichigo and Toushiro sat down on chairs that were in either side of Orihime without farther arguing. Ichigo straightaway figured out that this was indeed as tasty as the dinner. And it wasn't anything fancy either. So he came up with the conclusion that it had to be Orihime that gave the foods excellent tastes.

"See, I told you it would taste just as good," complemented Ichigo.

"Ichigo-kun, I think you are complementing me way more than I deserve. I am certain you eat better food every day," said Orihime with a soft smile.

"I am serious, this tastes excellent," Ichigo reassured her.

After eating, Ichigo was getting ready to leave. He wanted to stay here longer. He wanted spend couple more days with this brother-sister family. For some reason, he felt so attached with Orihime and Toushiro too. It's ironic because he had only been with them less than twelve hours. And already he felt so close with them. And after what happened last night, he was confused about his feelings. He was sure that he was attracted to Orihime. Would it be wrong if he came back to visit her again? Since when did he care about something like that? He had a feeling that he would come back to Musashima again.

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Orihime was washing the dishes. She felt sad. She knew that Ichigo would leave. She scolded herself for feeling this way. But after Ichigo saved her, she did feel attached to Ichigo. He is very kind and was extremely nice to her. He complemented her cooking again even though she knew he ate much better food. She liked him.

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Toushiro watched as Ichigo said good-bye to his sister. Ichigo decided to leave at the same time when he and Orihime were leaving for their work.

"Thank you very much for letting me stay here. I understand that you had to take a risk by showing me the generosity. After all, I am a stranger. And thank you for the excellent meals," said Ichigo.

"Ichigo-kun! What are you saying? You saved me. If it wasn't for you, I would probably be dead by now! You are the kind one here. And if you are going to talk about risk, then I would say you took the dangerous one. I mean you jumped in the river. And also, as I promised I will do anything within my power to help you in future," Orihime said, bowing down to Ichigo.

"Thank you again, Orihime. I hope we will meet again," said Ichigo with a smile that disguised his sadness at the fact that he has to leave.

"No, thank _you _Ichigo-kun. And I also hope that we will meet again," said Orihime. But sadness was evident in her voice.

"Well….bye Toushiro. And See you, Orihime," said Ichigo untying Zangetsu from the pole that Toushiro tied him last night. "Actually, on the second thought, um… can Toushiro show me how to get to the main road?"

"O-Of course! I am sorry. I should've thought about that," apologized Orihime before turning toward Toushiro, "Shiro-kun?"

"I figured a strawberry-head like you wouldn't know. So let's go," said Toushiro before starting to walk.

"Brat!" Ichigo mumbled, then her looked at Orihime again. "I have a feeling that I will see you soon."

"Hopefully," smiled Orihime.

Ichigo gave her a handsome smile before leaving. Orihime waved good-bye. For now.

Ichigo and Toushiro were walking and Zangetsu was being pulled by Ichigo.

"You really are from a rich family, aren't you?" asked Toushiro.

'Damn, he is smart for a brat' thought Ichigo. He decided to answer truthfully this time.

"Yes, I am," said Ichigo.

"And Keuchi isn't your real family name, is it?" asked Toushiro again.

'Yup. He definitely is smart. Way smarter than those dumbasses they teach in the royal academy. And he is just a kid' Ichigo thought again.

"You are right. It isn't my real name."

"And I am guessing there is a good reason for you hide your real name?"

'You have no idea! I bet you'd freak out if you knew I am the prince. I wanted a normal day for once. Call me selfish if you want.' Ichigo thought.

"I do. And I feel like you are interrogating me again," smirked Ichigo.

"Well… if you feel necessary to hide your real name then I won't ask you," said Toushiro completely ignoring the part about interrogating.

"Thanks Shiro-_kun!_ Well… bye," said Ichigo once they arrived at the main road. He got on Zangetsu. "Oh and your sister really is very very _very _tempting. Take care of her."

"IDIOT!" was the yell/answer he got.

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"Tatsuki-chan! Tatsuki-chan! You wouldn't believe what happened!" said Orihime as she ran to Tatsuki.

"What happened, hime?" Tatsuki asked. She already had some ideas though. Like Orihime saw little blue men or green men.

"Yesterday, I fell into the river an-" before she could finish, Tatsuki yelled.

"YOU WHAT! ARE YOU HURT? DID YOU GET HURT AT ALL? HOW DID YOU GET OUT OF IT ALIVE? HIME, WHAT WILL I DO WITH YOU?"

"T-Tatsuki-chan! It's ok. I am ok. I was saved by Ichigo-kun," said Orihime trying to calm her yelling friend down.

"Ichigo? _strawberry?_ Who the hell is Ichigo? He isn't from around here, is he?" asked Tatsuki, taking heavy breaths and trying to calm down.

"No. He said he is from a far-way village. And he had a horse too. Since he was traveling, he needed the horse," said Orihime, trying to memorize what Ichigo told her.

"He has a horse? He must be rich," suggested Tatsuki.

"I asked him but he just said he was a commoner," said Orihime. "And I offered him to stay for the night an-"

"YOU WHAT! HIME! GUYS ARE CREEPS! DID HE DO ANYTHING TO YOU? WHERE WAS TOUSHIRO?" Tatsuki yelled again.

"Tatsuki-chan! People are staring! And Shiro-kun agreed because he saved me. Oh and Shiro-kun bought be a new kimono. I will show you later. And Ichigo-kun was so handsome. He had nice orange hair and firey brown eyes! He was so kind and nice and handsome!" Orihime finished without taking breaths in between the sentences.

"Wow! Orihime, I think you fell for him," said Tatsuki with a smirk.

"Tatsuki-chan! I-I didn't," protested Orihime.

"I think you did and it's not a bad thing," said Tatsuki.

"Mou… we are just friends," _right_? Said Orihime.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ichigo was riding Zangetsu but his thoughts were somewhere else. Orihime. It hurt his inside to leave that was her home. But it pained him. He wished he could take her away from that old, poor vill- wait! Why was there a poor village close to Seireitei in the first place? Villages that were farther away from Seireitei were in much better shape. Then what's wrong with Musashima. He decided to talk to his father about this and do something about the village.

The whole time, he was thinking about Orihime.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time Ichigo arrived the Seireitei Royal Castle, it was alomost lunch time. After taking a quick shower, he joined his family for lunch. Well only his mother because Yuzu and Karin were in the dance practice and they decided to eat in there and his dad was in his office and he will join them for lunch a little later.

"How are the Ishidas, Ichigo," Masaki asked her son as she passed him as she passed him a bowl of chicken teriyaki.

"They are fine, mom. But I didn't spend the night with them," said Ichigo. As he took a bite of his food, he instantly remembered Orihime's cooking.

"Where were you?" asked Masaki. Ichigo just shook his head after seeing his mother worrying.

"Mom, do you know any village called Musashima? I was there last night," asked Ichigo hoping to get some more information on the poor village.

"You were in Musashima? I did hear about it. I've never been there. All I know is that village is very poor," replied Masaki.

"Yeah, mom. It's extremely poor. I was wondering why that village is so poor when it's relatively close to Seireitei."

"When you were young, there were some problems with Musashima. During that time village around Seireitei were being reconstructed by the help of king. But for some reason, your grandfather didn't do anything about Musashima. Your father was asking him about it. And that's how I know this," said Masaki.

Now Ichigo was confused. Why wouldn't his grandfather help them? They were poor. And it's the kingdom's job to help them. What was going on?

"I am sure Isshin has more information on this, Ichigo," said his mother.

"What information do I have, my dear Masaki-chan? Oh! My punk of a son is back!" said Isshin, appearing in the door.

"No fighting during lunch, Isshin-kun!" warned Masaki knowing what was about to come.

"Aww Masaki-chan!" pouted Isshin.

"Dad, why didn't the kingdom help Musashima?" Ichigo asked with a serious face.

"Musashima? How do you even know Musashima?" asked Isshin as he sat down.

"I spent last night in Musashima," replied Ichigo.

"oh, well… when my father was the king, you were one or two, Musashima issue came up. Like the other villages, my father was going to send workers to reconstruct Musashima as well. But then he didn't. I asked him and he said the Ichimaru family requested him not to. Ichimaru family was and still is a very significant noble family. My father permitted their request. And it was never brought up again," answered Isshin.

"Why didn't you do anything about it when you became king?"

"Ichigo, it's my duty to honor my ancestors decision. I tried to get him to change his mind. I even talked to the Ichimaru family head and asked him why he didn't want Musashima's condition to improve. He just said, his son needed to be taught a lesson. I think it had something to do with his son leaving the family for a girl from Musashima,"

"Ichimaru family head sure is an old senile fool. Because of him Orihime an-" Ichigo was interrupted.

"WAIT!WAIT! ORIHIME? THAT'S A GIRL! OH MASAKI-CHAN! LOOK, OUR SON FOUND THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE," yelled Isshin, his idiotic side back again. Ichigo face-palmed. Why did he even mention Orihime in front of his dad? His cheeks had tiny-bits of red in them. He hoped his parents wouldn't notice.

"Isshin dear, please let Ichigo talk," said Masaki with a deathly evil smile.

"O-Of course, Masaki-chan," said Isshin.

"I stayed with Orihime las-" he immediately regretted saying that.

"WHAT! MY SON! YOU'VE FINALLY BECAME A MAN!" Isshin happily yelled again.

"Isshin-_kun?_" said Masaki warningly.

"G-Gomen, gomen."

"As I was saying, last night I saved Orihime when she fell in the river and she took me to Musashima village. And their village inn-keeper went somewhere so I had to stay with Orihime and her brother Toushiro," Ichigo was finally able to say without any interruption from his eccentric dad.

"Orihime? That's such a beautiful name," commented Masaki.

"Yeah, the name fits her. They are very poor though, like the rest of the village. They are orphans so it's harder for them," said Ichigo.

"Aw… poor children. How old are they?" asked the queen.

"Orihime is probably a year younger than me and Toushiro is probably a little older than Yuzu and Karin. They became orphan when Orihime was twelve," said Ichigo.

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A week passed since Ichigo met Orihime. This whole week, Orihime was in his mind all the time. Whenever he ate something, it reminded him of Orihime. Whenever he went to sleep, Orihime was in his dreams. Moonlight reminded him of her. He was going crazy thinking about her all the time. His heartbeat increased every time he thought about his almost kiss. He wanted to see Orihime again. He wanted to visit her again and it has only been one week since he met her. He was looking for excuses. He couldn't just tell everyone that he was going to meet Orihime. He had a reputation to maintain. Him going to see a girl will surely ruin his reputation. And he just visited Uryuu and Chad so he couldn't use that. Ichigo was thinking about all these as he walked to the training ground. Maybe a little training will keep his mind off of Orihime. As he was walking he bumped into captain Aizen.

"Prince Ichigo-sama, I haven't seen you in quite a long time. How are you doing?" said Aizen with a smile. Ichigo never liked Aizen. He was an excellent captain. But something about this man just screamed evil. Ichigo didn't trust him. Sometimes he thought he was being paranoid, but he just couldn't shake this feeling off.

"Yes, it has been long. I am doing fine, thank you for asking," said Ichigo cautiously.

"Well I am going to meet with your father. Always a pleasure to meet you, Ichigo-sama," said Aizen.

"The pleasure is all mine," said Ichigo and shook hands with Aizen as good bye.

Ichigo resumed walking toward the training ground. He didn't like Aizen at all.

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A month passed and Ichigo was thinking about visiting Chad and Ishida again. Well… more like thinking about going to visit Orihime again. Rukia wasn't sick anymore. She and Renji came to the castle every week so Ichigo spent lots of time sparring with Renji. Other than that, all he could think about is Orihime. He told his father about going to visit the Ishidas again and of course his father made a remark about how he was actually going to see Orihime but was using Ishida as an excuse. And of course, Ichigo kicked him and said he needed to talk to Chad about something and was not going to see Orihime. But his father asked him to go couple days later if it wasn't too argent. He needed to help his father with some paperwork. He had a feeling that his father somehow knew that he was going to visit Orihime and decided to annoy him by giving him paperwork. And Ichigo wasn't about give his dad that satisfaction by showing that he was annoyed and decided to go couple of days later.

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A month passed since Orihime met Ichigo. She missed him. She was shocked because she just met him for less than twelve hours and he had such impact in her life. She wished he would come to visit her soon. Orihime was sitting on the bank of the river. The river reminded her of Ichigo. Actually almost everything reminded her of Ichigo. She figured Tatsuki was right. She did have a crush on Ichigo. But was that just a crush? Or was it deeper than that? All of her thoughts revolved around Ichigo. But did she have the right to feel this way? She was pretty sure by now that Ichigo was from a rich family. And she was an orphan. Well… it's not like she will pursue Ichigo for her feelings even if she saw her again. So it's ok. She won't say anything about it even if she met him again. She will keep her feelings hidden. So it didn't matter that she was an orphan or that she had some sort of feelings for him. Orihime's thoughts were interrupted by sounds coming from the village. It sounded like people in the village were screaming. She could also hear horses.

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Thank you for reading and reviewing (I am assuming everyone who read, reviewed. So please don't prove me wrong :) )

Sorry this chapter was a little short but I didn't want to tell you who were riding those horses!

Special thanks to~

**DeathBerryLover1995**: Yay! I am so happy you are reading this story as well! And yeah, I wanted to make them kiss too. But I knew Ichigo would also sulk if I didn't make that happen. And I love to make Ichigo sulk (MUHAHAHA, I AM EVIIIIL) so I didn't make them kiss. Lol. I was just thinking that would make it too fast. Thank you for reviewing! :)

**Ermilus**: I totally agree with you! That's why I hate it when haters say that she is weak just because she doesn't carry a sword and slice the enemies' heads open. I used to get into fights with those people but I learned to ignore them. Thank you for commenting!:)

**SkySamuraiGirl**:Thank you! Orihime will soon learn! :)

**Misha**: Thank you! :)

**Kari Hitsugaya**: Thank you! I am glad that you liked it! Oh and I just love your profile picture (sorry had to say it). :)

**sunflowerspot**: Thank you! And here is your chapter! :)

See you later, everyone.

Raininglight~


	4. Chapter 4

Hey everyone! it's me! And here is chapter four! I hope you like it. Please read and review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of it's character. But I do own a brain to come up with a plot. (I think)

Orihime quickly got up and ran toward the village to see what was going on. And Toushiro was working inside the village today so she had to make sure he was alright. As Orihime got close to the village, she could see the villagers crowded around to see something. Orihime understood that the villagers were screaming with joy. She also went to see what happened. She saw Tatsuki's younger sister Hana as she approached the crowd.

"Hana-chan, why is everyone gathering in here?" Orihime asked.

"Hime-chan! People from the royal empire came. They said that they didn't know there was a village in here, so they came to check it out," said Hana.

Orihime couldn't see the people that came because of the people who were in front of her.

"Really? That's cool! I want to see them too," Orihime said excitedly.

"Me too. I didn't see them either. Tashami-san saw them. She said they were soldiers. They came here riding on horses. I wish Tatsuki-nee was here," Hana said eagerly.

"Where did Tatsuki-chan go?" asked Orihime.

"She went catch fish in Tikimoshi Lake with mother. That's far away from here," said Hana.

"MAKE WAY FOR US PLEASE, WE WILL BE LEAVING NOW," Orihime heard a voice, most likely one of the soldiers.

The crowd immediately formed long lines in the two sides of the street. Now Orihime was able to look at the soldiers. There were five soldiers on five horses. Four of them were wearing same outfit. But the one in the middle was wearing a different outfit. He was tall, had a long face, black hair. He looked intimidating. He was very scary looking for some reason. As they rode by, suddenly the scary looking one made eye contact with Orihime. He stopped his horse and stared at her, his face forming a creepy, evil smirk. Orihime was scared. She didn't dare to break the eye contact. He got off from his horse and walked toward her. The crowd watched. No one making any sound. Orihime took a step back from where she was standing and her back met with a building's wall that was behind her.

He kept walking. When he reached her, he caught one of Orihime's wrists roughly. Then pulled her toward him. His eyes never leaving hers. Orihime was terrified. Why was this person pulling her? Where is he taking her?

"P-Please, let m-me go," she said, her voice shaking. He just continued to smirk.

She struggled to break free from his grasp. He walked toward his horse as he roughly pulled Orihime after him.

"YOU BASTARD! WHERE ARE YOU TAKING MY SISTER?" somebody suddenly yelled. Orihime looked around to see Toushiro running toward them.

"Brat, I am Nnoitra Jiruga, one of the vice-captains from the royal military and you called me a bastard. You will pay. And I am taking your sister to be my whore." Said Nnoitra as he continued to pull the now crying Orihime. She was trying to stop herself from walking behind Nnoitra but he was too strong.

"Like hell. I don't give a damn at who you are but you are not taking my sister," said Toushiro as he attempted to come to Nnoitra but he was stopped by another guy.

"Tesla, beat that brat up and bring him with us. I will teach his a lesson in the prison," ordered Nnoitra.

"N-NO! PLEASE STOP! DON'T H-HURT MY B-BROTHER. PLEASE, I BEG YOU. DON'T HURT MY B-BROTHER," Orihime screamed.

The person named Tesla smacked Toushiro and Toushiro punched him in the stomach. Toushiro was doing good but Tesla was much older than him and he was taller. He was a trained soldier. Orihime watched as Toushiro received many punches in his stomach and then he lost consciousness.

"NO! TOUSHIRO, PLEASE BE A-ALRIGHT. STOP THIS. STOP. H-HURTING. HIM. LET ME GO. SHIRO-KUN," Orihime screamed and cried.

"Shut up! He isn't dead but he will be when I see him in the prison," said Nnoitra.

"YOU MONSTER, YOU HURT MY BROTH-" Nnoitra slapped Orihime. Orihime lost consciousness from the slap. Nnoitra picked her up and pulled her to his horse. Tesla pulled Toushiro to his own horse.

This entire time, no one dared to say anything. No one moved. No one helped them. Nnoitra and his team took Orihime and Toushiro away.

Tatsuki came back to the village and learned the news. She screamed and cried. She cursed the whole village for not doing anything. She cursed the people who took them away. Lastly she blamed herself for not being there to help her friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Orihime woke up and the first thing she noticed was a sharp pain in her cheek. Someone was holding her by the hip not too gently. She suddenly remembered everything that happened. Her eyes shot open. She was on a horse and Nnoitra was behind her. He was holding her with one hand and holding the horse's rope with another hand. She screamed.

"Oh, you are awake, eh?" said Nnoitra from behind her.

"Let m-me go, let go off m-me," cried Orihime.

"Oh no sweetheart, I can't do that. And you would die if I let you go," said Nnoitra with a smirk.

"I-I would rather d-die than go with you," said Orihime as she continued crying.

"Huh! I can't let you die either. If you die then who will be my whore?" taunted Nnoitra. "Don't worry we are already in Seireitei. It won't be long till we reach my place. Now keep quiet." Nnoitra brought the hand that was holding her hip to her mouth and shut her up. Orihime quietly cried. She just prayed that Toushiro was alright. Even though she knew that he was severely hurt.

Orihime looked around and saw many buildings. She heard that Seireitei was beautiful and rich. She would've enjoyed the view if she was in a different situation. Orihime kept thinking about what will happen once they get to Nnoitra's place. She wanted to die. But Toushiro. What will happen to Toushiro? She will gladly give up her life if Toushiro can live. But she couldn't do anything about this. But she needed to save Toushiro. Her baby brother can't die because of her.

About ten minutes later, Nnoitra stopped his horse. He got down then pulled Orihime down. He dragged Orihime across what looked like a training ground. Orihime panicked. She couldn't see Toushiro. She screamed again.

"L-LET ME G-GO. T-TOUSHIRO. I WANT TO SEE MY BROTHER. S-SHIRO-KUN. LET G-GO OFF ME!" Orihime continued screaming.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ichigo was having a bad day. He kept thinking that something terrible happened to Orihime. He was worried. He knew that maybe this is happening because he can't stop thinking about her. He just wished his father would be done with his paperwork soon. So he could go see her. Ichigo was walking toward the training ground to let some steam off. When he entered the training ground, he heard a scream. His eyes widened. For some reason, it sounded like Orihime screamed. Was he so engrossed in Orihime that he was hearing her now? Then he heard,

"L-LET ME G-GO. T-TOUSHIRO. I WANT TO SEE MY BROTHER. S-SHIRO-KUN. LET G-GO OFF ME!"

Yes it really was Orihime. Ichigo ran toward the direction the scream was coming from. What was Orihime doing here? What happened to Toushiro? Who was making her cry? Ichigo turned in one corner and saw Nnoitra pulling Orihime. Ichigo's blood began to boil. What the fuck was Nnoitra doing? Why was he pulling Orihime like that? What the hell is going on?

On the other hand, Nnoitra was getting annoyed. This girl kept screaming. He pulled her toward him again then slapped her. He watched as she flew around from the impact of his slap. But she didn't hit the ground. Kurosaki Ichigo caught her before she could hit the ground.

Ichigo saw Nnoitra slap her then he didn't know how he got to her. He was there before she could hit the ground. He caught her.

"I-Ichigo-kun…..S-Shiro-kun….." Orihime lost consciousness again. Ichigo was terrified. What happened to her? What happened to Toushiro? Then Ichigo felt anger. He looked up and saw Nnoitra looking at him weirdly.

"Nnoitra, what the fuck do you think you were doing?" asked Ichigo in a dangerously low voice.

"Oh, I just brought her here to be my whore. But I guess she is _your _whore, eh?" said Nnoitra.

"Be glad that she needs medical attention, or I would've killed you right here. If anything happens to her brother, your body will be in thousands of pieces," said Ichigo in the same low voice. He then picked Orihime up and ran toward the royal infirmary.

Ichigo ran all the way to the infirmary. This one was inside the castle and only the royal family and their relatives were allowed to use it. Dr. Unohana was in charge. As soon as she saw Ichigo running inside with a girl in his arms, she walked outside of her office and told him to put Orihime in one of the hospital beds. Ichigo did as he was told.

"What happened to her? Is she alright? Is she hurt?" Ichigo kept asking questions without letting Unohana answer.

"Ichigo-san, please let me have a look at her. I think it is best if you go outside for now," said Unohana quietly.

"Ok. But please help her. Make sure she is alright. She has to be alright. I will be right back," said Ichigo. He left after taking another look at the unconscious Orihime.

I've got to find Toushiro. Then that bastard is going to pay. Ichigo ran toward Aizen's squad because Nnoitra was Aizen's vice captain. As soon as he reached the place, he saw Tesla carrying Toushiro. Ichigo could see Toushiro was limply being carried and seemed like he was unconscious as well.

"Tesla, I am ordering you to bring him to the royal infirmary right now," said Ichigo.

"But, Kurosaki-sama, he is to be put in the prison," said Tesla.

"Did you not hear me? Do as I say if you value your life," said Ichigo again.

"O-Of course, Kurosaki-sama," said Tesla as he followed Ichigo to the infirmary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the meantime, somebody from the infirmary alerted the queen about Orihime. Of course she didn't know who the nurse was talking about. But she quickly came to see her.

"Ichigo-san brought her here. I was thinking you might know who she is, Masaki-sama," said Unohana.

"Actually I don't know who she is. But if Ichigo brought her here that means she is important. How is her condition?" asked the queen.

"Looks like she lost consciousness from pain and trauma. But she is alright now," answered Unohana.

That exact moment Ichigo walked in followed by Tesla who was carrying Toushiro. Ichigo told him to put Toushiro on another bed and then leave. Tesla did as he was told and then left.

"Unohana-san, please help him," said Ichigo. Unohana immediately began treating Toushiro.

"Ichigo, who are they and what happened to them?" asked his mother.

"Mom, she is Orihime and that's her brother Toushiro. I don't know much either. I was walking toward the training ground and I heard Orihime's scream then I saw Nnoitra dragging her toward his compartment," said Ichigo said without looking away from Orihime.

"This girl is Orihime? She is beautiful! We have to wait for her to wake up to know what happened," said Masaki as she was looking at Orihime kindly.

"I gave the boy some pain killer. He received quite a heavy beating. But he should be alright when he wakes up," said Unohana as she finished treating Toushiro.

In the meantime, Ichigo was shaking with rage. His hands were curled into fists. He looked like he is about to go kill someone. His shoulders were tensed. He went over what Nnoitra said to him. Ichigo gave off a murderous aura just thinking about what Nnoitra could've done to Orihime. If he didn't go kill Nnoitra now, he himself will go crazy. He needed to make him bleed. Ichigo suddenly broke away from his thoughts when he felt someone touched his shoulder. He turned around and saw his mother.

"Ichigo, please don't do anything rash. Wait for your father to come. We need to know what really happened. So please don't go kill Nnoitra. I promise he will be appropriately punished for his crimes. You need to stay here in case they wake up. Since they know you it will help them," said Masaki quietly.

"Thanks, mom," Ichigo said.

Neither the queen nor Ichigo left the infirmary. They were just sitting there quietly. The princesses came and asked them what happened and who are they and many other questions. After answering some of their questions, the queen sent them back to their dance lesson again.

It has been two hours since they were brought to the infirmary and suddenly Toushiro stirred. Everyone gathered around his bed.

"Such a strong boy, he is. Waking up already," murmured Unohana.

"Ughh…. Sis! Where is my sister!" Toushiro opened his eyes. He saw people around him but he didn't know who they were. He just knew Ichigo. "Ichigo-san? Where am I? Where is Orihime? Where did that bastard took her?"

"Toushiro, don't worry. Orihime is safe. You are hurt. Try to go back to sleep. I will explain once you feel better. Don't worry, nothing major happened to Orihime. And I will be here all the time so nothing will happen to her either," said Ichigo trying to calm Toushiro down.

"Thanks Ichigo-san," Toushiro said before dozing off to sleep again.

"You didn't tell them who you are, did you?" smiled Masaki.

"Of course not, mom. But I will have to when they wake up," said Ichigo.

After another hour, it was Orihime who was stirring. She opened her eyes and saw Ichigo.

"I-Ichigo-kun? W-Where is Toushiro?" asked Orihime.

"Hey, Orihime. Toushiro is safe. He is over there in that bed," said Ichigo. Before he could say anything else, Dr. Unohana asked,

"Are you feeling any pain? Or drowsiness?"

Orihime looked from Ichigo to Unohana. Then she looked back at Ichigo as if asking if it was safe to talk to her. Ichigo nodded.

"Um… no," said Orihime shyly.

"That's good. You are one beautiful girl," commented Unohana with another smile.

"T-Thank-you," said Orihime, blushing.

"Orihime, this is my mother," Ichigo introduced his mother.

Orihime's eyes widened. This is the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. She was gorgeous. Now she knew where Ichigo got his gorgeousness from. The woman smiled at her then came closer to her bed. Orihime tried to sit up but couldn't.

"It's alright, sweety. You need rest so keep lying down," said Masaki as she sat down on the chair that was right next to Orihime's bed.

Orihime smiled.

"You are very pretty!" said Orihime then quickly put her hands on her mouth and blushed.

Masaki smiled at the girl and said,

"Thank you, but you are much prettier than me."

"Okay. Okay. Now I need you to tell me what happened," said Ichigo.

"Um… five people showed up in our villages. And then the Nnoitra person just dragged me toward his horse and he said he- oh no! Ichigo-kun! You shouldn't have helped me! He will hurt you now! I am sorry! It's all my fault!" Orihime began to panic.

Ichigo held her hand and said, "Don't worry, Orihime. He won't do anything to me or you. I will make sure of it," said Ichigo with a determined look in his eyes.

Masaki just quietly observed her son interacting with Orihime.

"Eh… really? Where are we, Ichigo-kun?" asked Orihime.

"We are in the royal infirmary," said Ichigo.

"W-WHAT! But how?"

"I am sorry I lied to you Orihime. My name is Kurosaki Ichigo and I am the prince of this kingdom," said Ichigo quietly.

There was silence. Everyone looked at Orihime to see her reaction.

She suddenly screamed.

"OH NO! YOU ARE THE PRINCE! AND I FED YOU RICE AND FISH FOR DINNER! PLEASE DON'T EXECUTE ME FOR THAT," said Orihime, her hands on her head.

Masaki couldn't help but laugh at the younger girl's anxiety.

"AND I DIDN'T BOW TO THE PRINCE OR THE QUEEN! I AM SURE I WILL BE HANGED!" Orihime continued.

"O-Oi! Orihime! You aren't going to be hanged. I promise! Calm down!" Ichigo was assuring her.

"B-But I-Ichigo-ku- oh! I am so sorry for calling you that. Please forgive me," said Orihime not looking at Ichigo.

This time Ichigo chuckled.

"Hey, just because you found out that I am the prince doesn't mean we aren't friends anymore. We are still friends. So keep calling me Ichigo," said Ichigo.

"H-Hai!" she said quickly.

Toushiro woke up by now after hearing his sister's scream.

"Hey sis! Are you alright?" the white haired boy asked from where he was laying.

"S-Shiro-kun! Thank Kami-sama, you aren't dead. I thought…." Cried Orihime. She tried to get up and walk toward Toushiro but Ichigo held her back saying that Toushiro was alright and they both needed rest. That exact moment, Kurosaki Isshin barged into the infirmary.

"What happened? Hanatarou informed me that you were in the infirmary. Is everything alright?" the king asked as he looked at his wife.

"Everything is fine now, dear. But you see Ichigo's friends were hurt," said Masaki.

Isshin looked at the girl who was lying down on the hospital bed and looking at him with a surprised expression. Then he looked at the boy who looked back at him.

"Dad, this is Orihime and her brother Toushiro," said Ichigo with a sigh. Orihime's surprised doubled after hearing what Ichigo said. This man was the king of the whole Rukongai. She was in front of the king!

"ORIHIME-CHAN! YOU REALLY ARE BEAUTIFUL! NO WONDER MY IDIOT SON COULDN'T- Ahhh" the king fell on the floor after receiving a mighty kick from his son.

"Old man! Don't say anything embarrassing. And you are scaring her," said Ichigo, his arm raised to punch his dad if needed.

"Embarrassing? But it's true. You wanted to go to Musashima to visit- oomph" the king was punched.

On the other hand, Orihime was in utter confusion. She had no idea what the king was talking about and he was being hit by Ichigo. She looked at Ichigo's mother. She just smiled and said,

"Don't worry, that's normal for them."

Toushiro had a very good idea what the king was talking about. He decided to confront Ichigo later. Masaki broke off the fight between father and son and said,

"This is no time for fighting. Honey, you have to do something about vice-captain Nnoitra."

"Yeah! That bastard needs to be punished," said Ichigo.

"Ichigo, why don't you come with me and explain what happened? And Orihime-chan, Toushiro-san, you will stay here until you are well again," said the king with a smile before leaving with his son.

Masaki stayed behind. She was gently patted Orihime's head and said there was nothing for her to worry about. She got up and did the same to Toushiro. Orihime felt like her mother was with her. The queen reminded of her own mother. The gentleness, kindness, beauty everything. Orihime felt tears gathering in her eyes, threatening to fall. She quickly blinked and held her tears back. Ichigo really did have an amazing mother. He was lucky.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ichigo told his father everything he learnt from Orihime and what Nnoitra told him.

"What Nnoitra did, is not allowed in this kingdom. He will receive severe punishment," said the king.

"What king of punishment?" asked Ichigo.

"Since he is in Aizen's squad, I will have to talk to him. But Nnoitra will be suspended from his duty in the Royal army and he will be put in jail for the rest of his life. Since he was not able to fully commit the crime, thanks to you, he will not be executed," said Isshin.

"Well, he deserves to die! I mean he practically kidnapped Orihime and imagine what he could've done to her-on the second thought don't imagine that's not the point and he injured Toushiro badly," said Ichigo seriously.

"The girl is a rare beauty. No wonder my son can't sleep at night. She has big br-" the king stopped talking because his son kicked him in the face, maybe breaking his jaw because a loud crack was heard.

"DON'T TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT! FOR A KING, YOU SURE ARE A PERVERT! WHY WOULD MOM MARRY YOU, I'LL NEVER KNOW! I AM STARTING TO THINK YOU PROBABLY FORCED HER TO MARRY YOU," yelled Ichigo. His father started crying, saying how his son didn't love him one bit because he said such terrible things about him.

"STOP WITH THE FAKE CRYING! We have more things to discuss," said Ichigo. "After Orihime gets better I-I don't want her to go back to the village. She will be in danger if she goes back. I bet Nnoitra probably told the whole village why he is kidnapping her. That menas the villagers won't let her live peacefully. And other bad men will try things. I don't want that to happen," said Ichigo, a little embarrassed because he knew that he just wanted Orihime to live in Seireitei so he can see her every day.

Isshin truly smiled at his son. Looks like his son really did care about this girl.

He said, "What do you want me to do?"

"Toushiro is a very smart boy. If he goes on the academy here, he will be the best student in the school; I've no doubt about that. And I know Orihime want Toushiro to be educated. I want you to let them stay here," said Ichigo.

"Of course, my son! Who am I to prevent you from seeing the beautiful Orihime-chan all the time?" said Isshin with a sly grin.

"S-SHUT UP!" said Ichigo before leaving the compartment.

He came back to the infirmary and found his mother chatting away with Orihime who sat up on her bed but was leaning against the headrest. Toushiro was looking at them with an indifferent face. A servant was taking the dishes away. That must mean they ate already.

"Hey, mom. You can go back and have dinner now. I am sure Yuzu and Karin are missing you," said Ichigo as he came to sit on the chair that was in between Orihime and Toushiro's bed.

Masaki nodded and smiled at her son before leaving the infirmary.

"Now I know why you hid your true identity. Didn't want to draw attention, eh?" said Toushiro.

"Yeah. Just imagine how everyone would act if they knew I was the prince? And having a horse was bad enough," said Ichigo.

"Well… normally people would show off their identity but nothing about you is normal, starting with your hair. You are either very smart or a complete dumbass. Though the second choice seems more appropriate in your case," said Toushiro.

"T-Toushiro-kun! He is the prince! You shouldn't say things like that!" cried Orihime. She didn't need her brother to be executed for dishonoring the royalty.

"It's alright Orihime. That brat got some business with me," said Ichigo grinning. Toushiro knew what Ichigo was talking about. Ichigo was referring how he called Orihime tempting when he was leaving Musashima. Toushiro's eye twitched.

"Baka! Come here so I can kick your ass," said Toushiro earning a scolding from his older brother.

"But what I said was true! It still is," said Ichigo grinning widely because for some reason he loved to irritate Toushiro. Toushiro just made a scary face.

"I-Ichigo-kun, what are you talking about?" asked Orihime, confused. Since when did Toushiro started a business and why was the prince involved in that business?

"Oh, nothing, Orihime. I am sure Shiro-_kun_ needs to sleep now," said Ichigo innocently. Orihime nodded and asked her little brother to go to sleep.

"There is no way in hell, I am going to sleep with that barbarian still here. Who knows what he might do?" said Toushiro glaring at Ichigo.

"Shiro-kun! What a mean thing to say!" pouted Orihime.

"Don't worry, brat. I will stay here and protect your sister. So you can go to sleep," said Ichigo with a smirk. Orihime blushed.

"That's exactly what I don't want!" said Toushiro before drifting off to sleep. All those yelling must've taken a toll on him.

"You should go to sleep too, Orihime. You need rest," said Ichigo with a smile.

"But Ichigo-kun! You don't need to be here with us. I am sure you need to go to sleep as well. And tomorrow you'll probably have many things to do. So you need your strength," said Orihime.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I will go to sleep on that bed," said Ichigo pointing at the bed next to Orihime's.

"Ichigo-kun! I really can't thank you enough. I am not going to even try because if a lowly peasant like me tries to thank you, it will just disgrace your royalty. I will forever be in your debt," said Orihime, tears falling from her beautiful eyes.

Ichigo got up from his seat and patted Orihime on her heard before saying, "Shh… go to sleep now."

Orihime smiled even though she was still crying and before dozing off to sleep, she softly said, "You have a wonderful mother."

Ichigo just couldn't help but smile like an idiot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There it is! Please review!

I really hope you enjoyed this. Please don't hesitate to provide any constructive criticism. I am still a noob at writing. (Does anyone even use that word anymore?)

Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing!

Special thanks to...

**Misha**: Thanks! I am glad. And here is your chapter! :)

**Guest**: Thank you! And you didn't offend me! :)

**Ermilus**: Lol! If I call you a freak, then you will have to do the same to me! I check twice a day to see if any new Ichihime story came. You can say, I am an obsessive freak! And yup! Since Aizen is here, you know he is planning something. Thanks for the review! :)

**KurosakiCrystal18**: Oh my god! You are reading this story as well! I am so happy. And thanks! Even though, I really suck at choosing where to end the chapter. Your version of this chapter was lovely! But I am an weirdo and think differently! Lol :). I also liked that line. I want Toushiro and Ichigo to be like friends. Here is your update! I hope you enjoyed! :)


	5. Chapter 5

Hello everyone! Here is chapter five. Hope you enjoy. Please read and review.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or any of it's characters.

After closing the infirmary door, he also laid down on the bed. He was thinking hard. He knew that he wanted Orihime to stay. Just her presence could put a smile on his face. Orihime definitely was a unique girl. Ichigo drifted off to peaceful sleep.

Orihime had the weirdest dream ever or at least she thought it was a dream. She always dreamt about red bean paste kingdom, blue men and red men, but she never dreamt about Seireitei. Orihime woke up but kept her eyes closed. She wanted to hold on to the dream and opening her eyes would mean coming back to reality. She laughed. Orihime remembered her dream again. She was being kidnapped by a royal shoulder and Ichigo was there to save her.

"I am so silly," she said out loud, thinking that she was in her own room, on her futon. She was unaware that what she thought was a dream, actually happened. She was also unaware of the fact that Ichigo woke up before her and was watching her talking to herself, eyes closed. Ichigo decided to see what she does/ says.

"I can't believe I dreamt about something like this. Haha. I can't believe my silly brain came up with a dream where I was being kidnapped and Ichigo-kun saved me. But Toushiro was badly hurt. But Ichigo-kun was there. And I imagined him to be a prince. I also dreamt about his parents. Wow. Do I really think about him that much that my brain is making me dream about him like a fairy tale prince? Haha. But I guess he does have the looks for it," talked away Orihime still unaware of her surroundings.

On the other hand, Ichigo was in shock. First of all, Orihime admitted that she thought about him a lot. So he wasn't the only one. Secondly, Orihime thought the whole thing was a dream. She really was one of a kind. Ichigo decided to interrupt her.

"Oh. Do I really look that good?" he whispered in her ear. Orihime's eyes shot open. There is no way, she just heard Ichigo. But she had to believe her own eyes. Her face almost collided with Ichigo's. He was that close to her. Orihime couldn't suppress her scream of embarrassment. Her dream in fact was real and Ichigo heard everything. However no sound came because Ichigo quickly put one of his hands on her mouth to stop the loud noise.

"Shh… We don't want to wake Toushiro up now, do we?" Ichigo whispered again. His breath tickled her ear. Orihime turned bright red. Ichigo took his hand off of her mouth.

"I-I-I-Ichigo-kun! W-W-What a-a-are y-y-you d-d-doing h-h-here?" stuttered Orihime. She mentally smacked herself for stuttering like that.

"Don't tell me you forgot that I promised to protect you," Ichigo whispered.

He didn't know why he was suddenly feeling so hot. He was the royal punk. He never whispered to anyone. But whispering to Orihime seemed intimate. As much as he knew that he shouldn't be doing this, he just couldn't help himself.

Shivers went down Orihime's body. She couldn't think. She couldn't say anything because she knew that if she opened her mouth, she would only make a fool of herself in front of Ichigo. The moment was interrupted when they heard Toushiro waking up. Ichigo brought his face away from Orihime. He really didn't need Toushiro yelling at him right now.

"Ichigo-san? You are still here?" asked Toushiro.

"Of course. Since you decided to sleep like a baby, I had to make sure Orihime was safe," taunted Ichigo.

Toushiro's eyes twitched. Orihime giggled at her brother's reaction.

"You are such a moron. It's only morning and you are already getting on my nerves," said Toushiro.

Just when Ichigo was about to make another comment, Unohana came. She took Orihime to refresh herself and said Toushiro can go after Orihime.

"Are you feeling better today?" Ichigo asked once they left.

"Yeah, I am good. What is being done to the bastard Nnoitra?" Toushiro decided to talk about that since Orihime wasn't with them.

"Well, my father decided that he will not serve in the royal military anymore and will be put in jail for the rest of his life. He would've been executed if he was able to…you know… but since I stopped him, he wasn't able to do it. So he isn't going to be executed, just put in jail," said Ichigo.

"Hmm, that seems fair. Tell me Ichigo-san, is everyone else like that bastard? I mean other shoilders? Or just him?" asked Toushiro.

"I think this is the first time I saw something like this. Maybe Nnoitra did this before but never got caught. But rest assured, Orihime is safe in here. No one will dare to do anything to her," said Ichigo.

"How can I rest assured when you are saying that? You seem just as perverted as any other man," Toushiro said.

"Well, I wouldn't use the word perverted. I would say tempted. But that's only toward your sister. No one else. After all, your sister is tempting," smirked Ichigo.

Toushiro turned red from anger. But Ichigo was smirking. Toushiro looked at the bedside table and found a book on it. He threw the book toward Ichigo intending to hit him. Ichigo raised his hand to catch it but then he heard Orihime entering the room at that exact moment. Ichigo smiled and let his hand drop from the air. The book hit him on the head the moment Orihime looked at them. Ichigo managed to hide his smile and made a pained face.

"Shiro-kun! What are you doing? Ichigo-kun, are you alright?" Orihime panicked and came to where Ichigo was standing now. She reached up to put her hand on his head to look for any bumps. As she looked for bumps, she scolded Toushiro.

"Shiro-kun! Is this how you should act toward someone who saved us? I am very sorry Ichigo-kun. Shiro-kun sometimes gets like that! Please forgive him. I apologize for his behavior."

Ichigo on the other hand looked at Toushiro and smiled slyly. He enjoyed the feeling of Orihime's hand in his hair. It felt good. He could get used to this.

Toushiro got even angrier. He murmured a "Bastard" under his breath. Of course his innocent sister had no idea what really happened.

"It's alright, Orihime. I deserved that. And it doesn't hurt. Don't concern yourself over this," said Ichigo as he softly brought his hand to his head and caught Orihime's hand by the wrist. Orihime's cheeks burnt. She just realized that she ran her fingers through the prince's soft hair. She immediately started to apologize. Toushiro face palmed and went to the bathroom.

After Toushiro came from the bathroom, they dressed in luxurious kimonos that the queen sent for them.(After Ichigo saw Orihime in the kimono, he couldn't keep his eyes off of her) She also asked Ichigo to bring them to have breakfast with the royal family. When Orihime heard this she nearly fainted. Ichigo had to assure her over and over again that it's only a breakfast and no big deal. But Orihime was literally shaking. She didn't know the first thing about how to act in this type of things. She never received education for this. She looked at Ichigo with worried filled eyes.

"Orihime, you'll be fine, I promise," reassured Ichigo, again.

"Ichigo-kun, I am going to make a total fool out of myself and let you down," said Orihime. She felt like she will have a heart attack.

"Sis! You are worrying too much. They already know about us. So they won't expect us to act like some nobles. So stop worrying," said Toushiro.

"Yeah, that brat is right. About the not worrying part, I mean. So let's go," Ichigo said and leaded the way.

Orihime shakily followed and Toushiro walked next to his sister. In no time, they reached their destination. Ichigo opened a door and gestured them in.

Orihime was at awe when she saw the inside of the room. She couldn't believe that a room could be this beautiful. Then her eyes landed on the people who were inside the room. She saw the king and queen and two other girls. She assumed those are the princesses.

"Welcome! I am glad you are feeling better," said the queen.

Orihime and Toushiro bowed.

"No need for that, beautiful children! Right now we are Ichigo's family," said the king as he quickly skipped toward the siblings.

Ichigo quickly stood in front of them and said, "Listen old man! No funny business, got it?" he scowled darkly.

"Ichigo, you are scaring Orihime-chan!" the queen scolded her son then walked to the siblings and introduced them to the two princesses.

"Orihime-chan, Toushiro-kun, these are my daughters Yuzu and Karin. Yuzu-chan, Karin-chan, as you already know they are Ichigo's friends," finished the queen. Then she went off to break the fight between her husband and her son.

"Orihime-chan! You are very very pretty!" said Yuzu. She didn't know what to say to Toushiro so she just greeted him.

"That you, Yuzu-hime-sama, you are very cute!" replied Orihime. The twin's eyes widened. Karin chuckled.

"Oi! Orihime-chan, no need to call us hime or sama. Just call us by our name," said Karin.

"You act just like your brother," commented Toushiro. Orihime gasped. One of these days, her brother really will be executed for dishonoring the royal family.

"Nice to meet you too, shorty," remarked Karin. Yuzu gasped this time. "Karin-chan!"

"You are one to talk. You are even shorter than me," replied Toushiro coolly.

"Hey! Seems like we can be friends," said Karin.

Before Toushiro could reply, the queen came back with her son and husband and gestured them all to take seats.

The breakfast started and Orihime was amazed at the foods. Now she felt even worse for making Ichigo eat such simple food for breakfast when he was in their house.

"Orihime-chan, now that you are healed, we should talk about the current circumstances," sai the king.

"Yes, your majesty," Orihime politely replied.

"Oh no no no! Please don't call me that! It makes it sound like a stinky old man!" pouted Isshin. The princess, the queen and Orihime laughed. Toushiro's face was serious as always. And Ichigo scowled.

"You really are a stinky old man," commented Ichigo and the king started his hysterical crying. Once that was over, they got back to the serious conversation.

"As I was saying, before my idiot of a son decided to interrupt, I don't think it's very safe for you guys to go back to Musashima," said the king.

"Sir, I already thought as much and I know it is not safe for us to go back but we don't have anyone else to turn to," said Toushiro.

Isshin was amused. 'Looks like Ichigo was right. This boy really _is _smart.' Isshin wanted to know what Toushiro thought.

"Toushiro-san, why do you think it is not safe for you to return?" asked Isshin.

"First of all, since someone from your military decided to kidnap her…us, that automatically made us somewhat famous. And also, Nnoitra openly told everyone why he was capturing my sister. So if we go back now, everyone will just assume that actually happened. So life will be very difficult for us," elaborated Toushiro.

Orihime silently gasped because she didn't think of this. Her eyes widened in horror. Her hand flew to her mouth to stop herself from making any kind of sound. But the sudden movement caused everyone to look at her. Everyone saw the horror in her eyes.

"Oi! Orihime, clam down," said Ichigo quickly.

"Yes, Orihime-chan, don't worry. I know how to avoid all that," the king quickly said and Orihime seemed to calm down a bit. "I think maybe you can remain in Seireitei. That way Toushiro-san can go to school here."

"But why will you do such things for us? Why do you want us to avoid the problems that are sure to come if we go back to Musashima?" Toushiro asked. 'Smart boy.' Isshin thought.

"You really are smart. Toushiro-san, it's my duty to assist you because it was my army vice-captain who caused this problem. And you are Ichigo's friends. You helped Ichigo before. Also as a human it is my duty," answered Isshin.

This whole time Orihime was thinking. She always wanted Toushiro to go to school. And if they go back to Musashima now, not only her own reputation but also her brother's would be harmed. She could live with people calling her names, being rude to her, of course it would hurt but she could live with it. But she couldn't bare it if Toushiro also had to suffer for her sake. They could live here and Toushiro would get his education. But that would mean leaving her friends in Musashima. She knew Tatsuki is probably going crazy by worrying about her. She knew no matter what everyone else said in the village, if she goes back Tatsuki will support her and she will be friends with her just like before. Then everyone else would also say bad things about Tatsuki's family. And she wanted to avoid that with her life. Nothing good will come out if she decides to go back to Musashima.

However, if she does stay, she can't just live here for free.

"Kurosaki-sama, thank you very much. But I can't just stay here for free," said Orihime politely.

"Such an amazing lady! But Orihime-chan, you don't need to do anything," Isshin cooed.

Orihime didn't want to be here for free. It's not just only her but also Toushiro. Toyshiro's education would cost money. But she couldn't exactly refuse the king. Orihime looked lost in thought.

Ichigo must have understood that Orihime didn't want to be with them for free. But he didn't want her to go. He wanted her to stay with him. But he had no right to stop her if she really wanted to go. Ichigo looked up to his mother and gave her a look that clearly said _'Mom, do something.' _

The queen knew that her son didn't want them to leave. She was also worried about what could happen to them if they go back. She didn't want these children to be in danger. For some reason, the queen liked the two kids the moment she saw them.

"Orihime-chan, I understand what you are saying. I know what you can do. You see, Ichigo could be very stubborn and doesn't take care of himself if I don't force him to," "Mom!" "But I also have two daughters who needs me take care of them. What I am saying is, you don't have to stay here for free. Can you please stay here and assist Ichigo?" said the queen and Ichigo's jaw dropped. His mother was brilliant.

"Can I really?" said Orihime happily. She would be glad to help Ichigo.

"What a brilliant idea! Now my blockhead son will have some order in his life. Maybe he will be less cranky toward his papa!" wailed Isshin. The queen and the princesses laughed. Ichigo growled.

"Shut it! With all those stupid things that you do, there is no possible way for me to _not _get mad at you!" said Ichigo irately.

"Boys, this is not the time for this. Anyway, Orihime-chan, please consider this," Masaki said.

"Thank you, Masaki-sama. I don't know how to thank you to make you understand how much this means to me…us," Orihime said on the verge of tears. She looked at Toushiro and he smiled and nodded.

"Orihime-chan! You are the one who is helping us here. Thank you," said Masaki.

Eventually, the breakfast ended. Someone named Tessai took Toushiro to get admitted to the royal academy. Yuzu and Karin also went to make sure Toushiro is in the same class as them. And Ichigo brought Orihime to show her the castle. Orihime and Toushiro's rooms were on the west part of the sleeping area and the royalties stayed on the east. Orihime felt like she was still dreaming. But after running into walls couple of times, she was pretty sure she wasn't dreaming. Orihime suddenly remembered something as they were walking toward the outer part of the castle.

"Um…Ichigo-kun, I don't know what I am supposed to assist you with?" Orihime asked. She scolded herself for not thinking this earlier. She didn't even know what her job was!

Ichigo smirked. He could think of quite a few things. He just couldn't stop his mind from going there. He honestly tried to stop the perverted thoughts. But he was a guy and he was very attracted (even more) to her.

"Hmm…You are supposed to assist me with my needs," replied Ichigo. He was very sure that Orihime wouldn't understand what he meant.

Orihime didn't disappoint him. She innocently asked, "What are your needs?"

Ichigo actually smiled at her innocence.

"Hmm… like wake me up early or cook for me sometimes because I know how delicious your cooking is or entertain me when I am bored or just simply talk to me," answered Ichigo.

"Huh! I promise I will take my job seriously and do my best to assist you," said Orihime happily.

"I know you will," smiled Ichigo.

"Ano… Ichigo-kun, um…I-I…" Orihime stammered. She wanted to ask this but she really didn't want to bother him again.

"What is it Orihime?" asked Ichigo.

"Um…I-I have a friend in Musashima. Her name is Tatsuki. She is probably very worried about us right now. Is…is it possible to inform her somehow that I am safe and we won't be living in Musashima anymore?" Orihime asked shyly.

"Of course. I was supposed to go visit my friends in Karakura in a few days. I will stop by and tell her," said Ichigo.

"You….will?" asked Orihime not believing her ears. Really, the prince wanted to deliver the words by himself?

"Why not? This way I will be able to explain everything clearly," said Ichigo

Orihime was glad. Then she giggled.

"Hey, what's so funny?"

"You might want to be careful. Tatsuki-chan can be…violent. And she will probably not like you because um.. N-Nnoitra took me and all," said Orihime.

"Don't worry, I will manage. Now let's go see the training ground," said Ichigo as he walked toward the training ground.

"Huh? Why do I have to see the training ground? I won't train," said Orihime cutely.

"Well… this is where you will find me most of the time so if you need me for anything you can come here," answered Ichigo.

"That's a good idea. Oh, I know! I can bring you snack when you are training so you can recharge your energy," Orihime said excitedly.

Ichigo smiled at her excitement.

They spent the whole day together. Ichigo showed her different parts of the castle. Orihime met with lots of people. Most of them worked in the castle and some of them took care of the ground around the castle.

"Orihime, listen. You will be with me most of the time. But when you are not with me, you must not walk around alone," said Ichigo as they were coming back to the castle.

"May I ask why?" asked Orihime.

"Some people here are creeps," said Ichigo.

"Oh, ok," Orihime blushed.

They walked inside the castle and saw Toushiro, Yuzu and Karin.

"Well… we have to go to our dance practice now, Toushiro-kun. See you tomorrow," said Yuzu politely.

"Yeah, let the nightmare begin. Ugh… I hate dancing. Bye Toushiro," said Karin before walking off with her twin sister.

Toushiro turned around and saw Ichigo and Orihime coming toward him.

"Hey sis and Ichigo-san," greeted Toushiro.

"Shiro-kun!" Orihime ran to her brother and hugged him.

"Hey Shiro-_kun, _how was your first day in the academy?" asked Ichigo.

"You are getting on my nerves Ichigo-san and most students were idiots," said Toushiro.

"T-T-Toushiro-kun! That's not nice!" scolded his sister.

"Why? Why do you think they are idiots?" asked Ichigo, amused.

"Well…they are so childish and don't understand things even when explained," answered Toushiro. "That's what happens when you have filthy rich parents."

"Not everyone is a little genius like you, brat. By the way, do you know where your room is?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, your sisters showed me."

"I am going to go take a shower now. I will see you later Ichigo-kun and Shiro-kun, you have to go to sleep early," said Orihime.

"Yeah, I will," Toushiro promised his sister.

"Later, Orihime," said Ichigo and Orihime walked off.

"Ichigo-san, I have to talk to you," Toushiro said.

"What is it?"

"Listen, I only agreed to stay here because Orihime will be in danger in the village. But I know that there are some dangers here as well. Since she will be with you most of the time, I expect you to take care of her. My sister can be very trusting. She makes it so easy for everyone to take the opportunity and hurt her. She is the only family I have left and if anything happens to her…. I don't what I will do," said Toushiro.

Ichigo felt bad for him. He also had sisters. He knew what it was like to be a brother. Ichigo put a hand on Toushiro's head and said,

"Don't worry, Toushiro. Your sister is safe with me. Nothing will happen to her. I will make sure of it. You just study hard, ok? Your sister really wants you be educated," said Ichigo.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks, Ichigo-san. And you better keep her safe from yourself as well," Toushiro said.

"Sorry, Toushiro. I can't promise that," said Ichigo playfully before walking off.

"BAKA!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please please please review!

Thank you all for reading.

And special thanks to~

**KurosakiCrystal18**:Lol. Well, I visited your profile and you have all the well written stories in your favorite list. So if you like my story, that's a big deal to me considering I am a novice writer. I was so happy to find out that you are reading my story!Here is the update. Hope you liked it! :)

**Magdalena88**: Thank you for adding this story to your favorite list and I am glad this story was able to hold your interest. :)

**Xtremefairy**: Thank you! Here is the chapter and more will be coming!:)

**Ermilus:** Thanks! And Aizen's main plot will be reviled in future chapters! :)

**DeathBerryLover1995**:Thank you! And I agree! I also love the quarrel between Ichigo and Toushiro. And I promise this story will be longer than 8 chapters. Hehehe...It is such an honor to know that you think I am an amazing writer (I still think I am a novice idiot who is improving in a very very very -after 1081 very later- slow pace). I am glad that I have awesome readers like you! Thanks. You always inspire me! :)


	6. Chapter 6

Hiya Minna! I am here with chapter six! Please read and review. I hope you all will enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or the characters. That's not new...

Orihime woke up early in the morning and found herself in an unfamiliar room. Then she smiled. She really was lucky. Toushiro can go to school now. She thanked Kami and her parents and got up. After getting refreshed, she decided to go wake Ichigo up. Yesterday when she asked Ichigo how he used to wake up when she wasn't here, he answered that he woke up with his father's kick. Orihime couldn't help but smile at the weird family. They were a bit unusual but definitely a happy, funny family. Orihime walked toward Ichigo's room.

When she was just outside Ichigo's room, she realized that she was about to go inside Ichigo's room. The prince showed her where his room was but Orihime didn't go inside. Heat rose to her cheeks. She hesitated for a bit.

'Come on, Orihime! This is your job! You need to do this!'

Not knowing what else to do, she gently knocked on the door but no sound came from the inside of the room.

Orihime mentally scolded herself, 'Of course Ichigo-kun is not awake! It's my job to wake him up!'

Orihime pushed the door open. The inside of the room was dark. The thick curtains were in the way of the sunlight. Orihime could see a bed and a figure on the bed. Orihime walked toward the bed and stopped when she was within few feet of the bed.

"Um…I-Ichigo-kun, it's time to wake u-up," Orihime said softly. But her words had no effect on the sleeping prince.

"I-Ichigo-kun! Please wake up," Orihime tried again. This time a little louder. But Ichigo still didn't wake up.

Orihime looked around hopelessly. Her eyes fell on the curtains. She walked to the window and pulled the curtains apart. Sunlight decorated the once dark room. Now Orihime was able to look around the room. The room was very large. It was messy as well. Cloths were scattered everywhere. Books here and there. Orihime was surprised at this. 'Why was the prince's room so messy?' There was a very big book self in one side of the room. There was a table and two chairs. On the table, there was a huge sword. Well she could only see the sheath. But the sheath was huge so that must mean the sword was huge as well. There were dragon patterns on the sheath.

Orihime had the strange urge to pick the sword up but she quickly killed the urge. She was again surprised to see that the sunlight did nothing to wake Ichigo up. She looked back and saw blanket. Ichigo was under the blanket. Of course the sunlight didn't wake him up. It didn't even reach him!

Orihime sighed and walked to Ichigo again. She gently took the blanket off of Ichigo's face. Her cheeks reddening. Ichigo grunted when the blanket came off and quickly brought his hand to his face from the light. He still didn't wake up.

'He must be very tired. I don't think he got much sleep yesterday. He was guarding me in the infirmary. I feel bad to wake him up but…'

Orihime brought her hand to Ichigo's and softly touched him. Her cheeks burning in a darker shade of red. As soon as Orihime's hand touched the sleeping prince's hand, Ichigo's other hand shot up and grabbed hers. Orihime panicked. Ichigo didn't open his eyes.

"Old man, are you planning a new attack?" said Ichigo darkly in a low voice.

Orihime's heart was beating very fast and loudly. Ichigo was holding her hand. She didn't know what to do. She tried to get her hand free from his grip but he just held it tightly.

'He isn't awake yet! He must be thinking I am Kurosaki-sama. What do I do?'

"I-I-Ichigo-kun, i-it's time to wake up," said Orihime.

Ichigo's eyes shot open. He quickly tried to sit up. But since he was holding Orihime's hand, as he tried to sit up, he pulled Orihime on him. Orihime was quickly pulled onto Ichigo and from that impact her fell on his back again, Orihime on top of him.

"O-Orihime?" said Ichigo, his eyes widening.

"G-Good morning, Ichigo-kun," Orihime quickly tried to get up and after noticing their position, Ichigo grabbed her waist and helped her. Both of them blushed bright red.

"I am sorry. I guess I am used to waking up from my father's attack," said Ichigo as he scratched the back of his neck. "Come to think of it, where is he?"

Ichigo was expecting an attack from his father any second now. But it never came. Orihime left the room once Ichigo went to the bathroom. He told her to meet for breakfast in ten minutes. Orihime decided to go see if Toushiro was awake. The tint of red is still available on her cheeks.

She went to knock on Toushiro's door but it was open and Toushiro was coming out of his room, dressed in the school uniform.

"Good morning, Shiro-kun! You look very cute!" said Orihime happily.

"Hey, sis. This is my school uniform. They gave it to me yesterday. And what did I say about calling me cute?" said Toushiro, shaking his head.

"But Shiro-kun! You really look cute. When you go to school, all the girls are going to call you cute!" Orihime happily chatted away.

"No, they are not!" said Toushiro. His cheeks a little red.

"Hahaha, Shiro-kun, you are blushing!" Orihime sang as she ruffled her little brother's hair.

They went to the dining room together. Orihime and Toushiro were asked to eat every meal with the royalties by the queen. Orihime really could connect her own mother with Ichigo's.

After breakfast, Toushiro went to school with the princesses and Ichigo decided to go to the training ground. He asked Orihime to go with him.

As they were walking to the training ground, Orihime noticed the sword on Ichigo's hand.

"Ichigo-kun, is this the sword you train with?" asked Orihime.

"Well…most of the time, I train with a wooden sword but today I felt like using this sword for some reason. It's called Tensa," replied Ichigo as he showed the sword to Orihime proudly.

"It's so cool! Who made the sword?" questioned Orihime eagerly.

"I made it," Ichigo smirked at Orihime's reaction. She clearly didn't expect that answer. "My master, Yoruichi-san told me that I should have special connection with my sword and to create that, I need to make it. I also made the sheath but the weird dragon design was one of my friend's idea. Well more like he stole the sheath and got someone to draw dragons on them. My other friend wanted to make it chappy design. Thank goodness, Renji got to it first," said Ichigo with a horror-stricken face.

"That's awesome! You must have really good friends," commented Orihime.

"They are idiots. The one who designed the sheath is called Renji. He is an overgrown monkey with pineapple for hair. The one who wanted chappy design for the sheath is called Rukia. She is a midget who hits me all the time and obsessed with stupid chappy," said Ichigo irately.

"I-Ichigo-kun! That's not nice!" Orihime reprimanded the prince.

"It's true. And those two are getting married. They are engaged since childhood. I just feel bad for their kid that will be born in future. A baboon for a father and a crazy midget for a mother will sure make the child a devil," said Ichigo again earning another "Ichigo-kun!"

"I also have friends in Karakura. One is a smartass, named Uryuu and another one called Chad. He is a quiet guy. I was coming from their place when I met you," Ichigo smiled.

Once they reached the training ground, Ichigo asked Orihime to sit on one of the benches. She could see Ichigo train, well beating the poor people who also trained there were better choice of words. After an hour or so, another person entered the training ground. He was bald or if he simply shaved his hair, Orihime didn't know. But he looked scary. When he entered the room and saw Ichigo, he started doing some kind of 'Lucky dance.' Orihime couldn't help but laugh at the silly dance the supposedly scary person was performing.

When he heard her laughter, he looked at Orihime. Orihime instantly stopped laughing.

"Why is there a lady in the training room?" asked the scary, bald guy.

"Um…I-I…" Orihime didn't know what to tell him.

"She is with me," came another voice.

"Ichigo! I was just doing my lucky dance because I came here on the right time. Now let's fight and who is she?" said the person.

"She is Orihime and you are scaring her. She is my friend. Orihime, this weirdo here is Madarame Ikkaku," said Ichigo.

"H-Hello, Madarame-san," Orihime greeted.

"Hello there Orihime. Sorry if I frightened you," said Ikkaku awkwardly.

"T-That's alright," Orihime said slowly. She really was frightened.

"So you want another match, huh? Well, I am going to walk Orihime to the castle first then I will come back. So wait till I come back?" said Ichigo then gestured Orihime to follow.

"Ok. But you better hurry up," came Ikkaku's voice from behind them.

"I-Ichigo-kun, why do you not want me to watch the fight?" asked Orihime as they were walking to the castle.

"Fighting with Ikkaku will be….how should I put it….rough. Yeah, fighting with Ikkaku will be a little rough. I don't want you to see that. Seeing violence and bloodshed can take away a person's innocence. I don't want you to lose your innocence like that, Orihime," said Ichigo honestly.

He really didn't want her to see anything ugly. He knew that he would win against Ikkaku but that didn't mean he wouldn't receive a few injuries. Ikkaku will probably receive some too. But Orihime didn't need to see it. Orihime was too innocent. She already saw the ugly part of life once.

Orihime was touched by Ichigo's words. He thought she was innocent and was trying to protect it. The prince valued the innocence of a normal, slum-girl like her? She couldn't explain it in words just how kind the person beside her is. She felt tears gathering in her eyes.

"I-I don't know what to say, Ichigo-kun. Why are you so kind?" said Orihime gently.

Ichigo chuckled.

"Hey! I am not kind. You are just too nice. That's why you think I am being kind. And what I said was true. Your innocence is something worth protecting," Ichigo said as a matter-of-factly.

Orihime quickly blinked to hold back her tears and smiled. She just found it ironic how she could smile when Ichigo was there even though tears were threatening to fall.

After safely returning Orihime to the castle Ichigo came back to spar (fight) with Ikkaku. Orihime was having a major panic attack. Anxiety filled her every bone. Ichigo didn't want her to see a rough fight. That means their fight will be bloody. That means Ichigo will get hurt. She kicked herself for not thinking this earlier. She didn't know what she could do even if she did think about this earlier.

The way Ikkaku randomly came and asked Ichigo to fight him and the way Ichigo agreed, it seemed like a regular routine for Ichigo. Does he get hurt regularly? Orihime couldn't sit still. She didn't know what to do. She tried to convince herself that Ichigo won't get hurt but her mind won't believe her. She was pacing around the hallway, unable to sit still.

"Orihime-chan? What are you doing here?" asked a voice from behind her. Orihime turned around and found herself in the presence of the queen.

"Hello, Masaki-sama. I-I…um…Ichigo-kun went to the training ground to f-fight with M-Madarame-san. A-And he said I shouldn't watch the fight. So he brought me here and left again. B-But what if he gets hurt? I-I don't know what to do?" said Orihime, clearly panicked.

Masaki sighed. She wasn't surprised at all. Her son would never miss a sparring fight. But she mentally thanked Ichigo for returning Orihime to the castle. The girl was having a nervous breakdown and she wasn't even watching them fighting. The queen could only imagine what she would do if she was actually in the presence of the fight.

"Don't worry, Orihime-chan. Ichigo does that all the time. He spars with Ikkaku at least twice a month. It's normal. He will probably get few scratches and cuts but other than that he will be fine," assured the queen.

Orihime seemed to calm down a bit. Since Ichigo's mother wasn't that worried that must mean it wasn't such a big deal. She knew that mothers cared about their children more than they cared about themselves.

"Thank you, Masaki-sama. But I don't know what I am supposed to do now," said Orihime, feeling a little embarrassed that she didn't know more about her job.

"Why don't you rest until Ichigo comes back or do anything you like?" suggested the queen.

"Is it alright, if I clean up….I mean, organize Ichigo-kun's room?" asked Orihime.

"You already saw his messy nature, huh? He doesn't let any maid to enter his room. That's why it's so messy. But I am sure he will appreciate your work," smiled Masaki.

"B-But I think Ichigo-kun will be angry if I go inside his room and clean it," said Orihime as she scolded herself for even bringing this idea in the first place.

"Orihime-chan, you are not a maid. You are Ichigo's friend. I am very sure he won't mind if you go inside his room. If you don't have anything else to do then please clean up Ichigo's room. But you don't have to if you don't want to," said Masaki as she looked at the younger girl with care.

"I think I will go clean up Ichigo-kun's room. Thank you Masaki-sama," Orihime smiled at the queen. She and the queen were becoming close and Orihime couldn't have been any happier. She felt like she was with her own mother whenever she talked to Ichigo's mother.

Orihime busied herself once she entered Ichigo's room. She picked up all those cloths and neatly folded them and piled them in one of the corners. She didn't want to open the closet. She was already interfering with Ichigo's privacy. Then she picked up all the books that were lying around. She neatly put them back to the bookshelf. She was so happy to see all these books. Orihime did receive simple education and learned to read and write. As she was putting a book back, it fell from her hand and flew open on the floor. It was the famous play called ''Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare. She actually heard about it from the priest who gave her the basic knowledge in reading and writing. He also mentioned names like Hamlet, Macbeth etc.

Orihime was beyond happy to see the play in front of her. She couldn't contain her excitement and quickly put away other books back to the bookshelf. Once the room was neat and clean, she started reading the play. She knew that since she was done cleaning Ichigo's room, she should probably leave but she was just too engrossed in the play. She never really had a chance on reading freely like this. She sat on the floor and kept reading the play and didn't know how long she was sitting there.

Ichigo walked back to the castle with a small grin on his face. He knew that he was going to win but their spar was fun. Ikkaku was a very good swordsmen and it was always fun to spar with him. He did have some cuts on his face. But they were very normal for him. He couldn't wait to see Orihime. He walked to his room and decided to change from his sweaty attire before seeking out Orihime. He opened his bedroom door slowly and was stunned to see the sight inside.

His room was clean and most importantly; Orihime was sitting on the floor, in front of the enormous bookshelf and was reading something with undivided attention. It didn't take long for Ichigo to understand that it was Orihime who cleaned his messy bedroom (he felt ashamed for not doing it). But he was happy that she cleaned it, nonetheless. He quietly walked to Orihime's sitting form and looked at what she was reading.

"You like that play?" he asked and then smirked when Orihime jumped up and then turned around.

"I-I-Ichigo-kun! I am so sorry for reading your books. Please forgive me. I am sorry for entering your room," Orihime quickly apologized.

Ichigo sweat dropped. Why is she always apologizing for no reason?

"Hey, it's alright. Reading is a good thing and I don't mind. Oh and thanks for cleaning my room. I know I am kind of mess-"he was interrupted when a shriek escaped Orihime. She just noticed his cuts.

"Ichigo-kun! You have to go to the infirmary! It must be hurting!" she quickly said.

"What? This? Don't worry, Orihime, this is completely normal. You are freaking out after seeing this, then it's a good thing that you came home because I think you would've fainted if you saw Ikkaku's face," said Ichigo proudly.

"Well…Madarame-san is probably treating his injuries in the hospital by now. So please, let's go to the infirmary," Orihime continued desperately.

"Of course not! Just imagine if the pineapple-head Renji comes and sees me in the hospital! I will never live it down!" protested Ichigo.

"But you have to! Please!" Orihime said with her puppy-dog eyes.

Ichigo tensed after seeing her eyes. He couldn't refuse her. Not when she was pleading and making those eyes. But his royal punk reputation would be ruined if he does go to the hospital. And he couldn't say no to Orihime. This girl would be the death of him.

"Fine! I will go. But it's only for today. You have to promise to never ask me to go to the infirmary again," smirked Ichigo. If he can just somehow come out of the infirmary without being seen by any of his friends, then he won't have to go ever again.

"B-But what if you get hurt again?" asked Orihime.

"If I get hurt again, I will just withstand the pain like a real man. After all, I am not a wimp!" Ichigo proudly declared his masculinity.

Orihime suddenly smiled. She had an idea.

"Alright, if you go today, I won't ask you to go to the infirmary ever again," said Orihime with a smile. Ichigo looked at her wearily. Why was she agreeing to this?

But he didn't have much time to figure out what Orihime was planning because he was being pulled by Orihime. He smiled and followed her.

Unohana was beyond surprised to see Ichigo in the infirmary. Since the time Ichigo first learned to fight with sword, he would spar with people. He would get hurt but no one other than his mother was able to bring him to the infirmary. Ichigo loved his mother very much. So if he got hurt, he would never let her see him like that because he knew that if his mother asks him to go to the infirmary, he couldn't refuse. But Orihime was able to bring him to the infirmary.

Unohana watched the pair leave the infirmary after she was done treating Ichigo's wounds.

'Ichigo-san, you made the right choice by keeping her here,' Unohana thought before going back to work.

As Ichigo and Orihime were walking back toward the main castle, Ichigo said,

"Thanks, Orihime. I really should've cleaned my room. Sorry you had to see it like that."

"It was no problem, Ichigo-kun. But Masaki-sama said you don't let any maid to go in your room. Um..why is that?" asked Orihime.

"I don't want a random maid to touch my stuff," said Ichigo.

"I-I am s-sorry! I knew I shouldn't have gone in your room," Orihime said in utter distress.

"What if I want you to go in my room and touch my stuff?" Ichigo said with smirk as he looked at her.

Orihime became flustered. She lowered her eyes. Unable to look at Ichigo. Her head was spinning. She couldn't find words to respond.

"Oi! Are you just going to stand there or come?" came Ichigo's voice.

Orihime looked as saw Ichigo walking away. She hesitantly followed. Unaware of the smile that crept up on Ichigo's mouth.

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Please review.

Thank you all for reading and reviewing. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Special thanks to...

**Xtremefairy**: Thanks! And I love their quarrel as well. They are funny. :)

**Guest**: I am glad you love this story! And thank you for having this story in your favorite list! Lol.. Maybe you should make an account. Then you can have lots of stories in your favorite list. Here is your update! Hope you liked it! :)

**Zoe Whiteraven**: I am glad you like it. And I kind of planned on making a little HitsuKarin. I don't really mind anyone with Toushiro. I am ok with anyone. But for the sake of this story, I would like something between Toushiro and Karin. I am sorry if you don't like this pairing. But it's kind of needed for the plot. :)

**Ermilius**: Lol. That he does. Thank you! :)

**Magdalena88**: Lol. I also like when Ichigo and Orihime are in an awkward situation. They are just too cute! :)

**AiiWoKoete**: Aww..Thank you! That means so much to me! I try to keep everyone in character. But I think Ichigo is a little out of character. But that is kind of needed for the plot. So...And Isshin is very funny. They will kiss but in future chapters. Thank you so much for your wonderful comment. You really inspired me! Thank you. :)

**DeathBerryLover1995**: You ARE awesome! And lol... I read about 98% of Ichihime stories. So M rated were in them. Actually, I even learned about fanfiction when I accidentally found a story. And that story was M rated. You can't even imagine how hard I was blushing. Lol...but yeah, I just wanted to do something to make it interesting. And yeah. I am planning on a little HitsuKarin. Thank you so mcuh. You always encourage me to keep writing. Here is the update. Hope you liked it. Love you too! :)

**HellYus**: Thank you! I am happy you liked it. Here is the update and you HAVE to update At the Hands of a Hollow! Please! Thanks. :)

See you later, everyone!

RainingLight1~


	7. Chapter 7

Hey everyone! Here is chapter seven. I hope you will enjoy! Please read and review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or it's characters. Kubo is the talented man.

The sun tilted west when Orihime and Ichigo were walking around the royal garden. Orihime didn't understand why they are walking around the garden. But she didn't forget to appreciate the beauty of nature. The garden certainly was something to look at. Exotic flowers and plants decorated the large piece of land. A pond was in the middle. Orihime's cheeks were still red from what Ichigo told her earlier. They were quietly walking. It was a comforting silence. Ichigo decided to break it.

"Hey, you never answered me. Did you like that paly?" he asked.

"Y-Yes, I did. But I couldn't understand some of the lines. Some of the words were confusing. But I liked it," Orihime replied with a smile.

"I understand. Since you don't read it often, it can be a little confusing a first. But if you read more, you will get the hang of it. Did you know there are other plays like that one? They are by William Shakespeare." asked Ichigo, secretly smiling when he remembered how hard Orihime was concentrating on the play.

"I know. I heard about Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar," Orihime said enthusiastically.

"Actually, I have them all. I am a rather big fan of Shakespeare. You can read them if you want," Ichigo told her.

Orihime's smile brightened and her eyes sparkled.

"Really? I can?"

"Of course. On the second thought, how about you read to me? Yup, it's settled. From now on, you will read to me. I can help you if you have any confusion," said Ichigo.

"Thank you!" Orihime said joyously. She was very excited. She twirled around in the garden, completely forgetting Ichigo's presence. She only found him looking at her when she stopped her little happy dance.

"E-Eh…Um…Sorry," Orihime apologized, lowering her head down.

She missed the smile that decorated Ichigo's face. She only looked up when she felt a finger under her chin. She found herself looking at Ichigo's eyes. He was so close! Orihime's heart started to race. She couldn't look away from the intense brown eyes. She watched as Ichigo removed his finger from under her chin then brushed a strand of auburn hair away from her face. On his other hand was a beautiful white flower. He gently tucked the flower behind her ear. His hands only moved from her hair when they heard a loud,

"OI!"

Ichigo moved away from Orihime and Orihime blushed into an impossible shade of red. They looked to see who called and found none other than Toushiro.

"Ichigo-san! What do you think you are doing?" Toushiro said in a low voice.

Orihime's face became even redder (if that was possible). Ichigo just smirked.

"Oh, nothing. I just thought the flower would look better in your sister's hair. Don't you agree?" he asked slyly.

"Well…it does look good. But that's not the point. Keep your hands to yourself. And sis! I have something to tell you?" Toushiro looked at his sister after scolding Ichigo.

"What is it, Shiro-kun?" Orihime asked shyly. She still couldn't breathe normally.

"They promoted me to higher class. It will only take me one year to graduate now," said Toushiro with a hint of a smile.

The next thing he knew was being hugged by his sister. Orihime tackled her brother in a tight hug. Tears pouring freely.

"I am so proud of you, Shiro-kun. If our parents were here, they would've been very proud of you as well. Thank you so much, Toushiro-kun. You are the best brother ever," Orihime said as she cried and laughed at the same time.

Toushiro returned the hug and smiled at his sister's joy.

Ichigo looked at the two siblings and smiled. Once Orihime released the brother from the hug, Ichigo said, "Good job, brat. Looks like you made your sister happy."

They were all walking toward the castle. Orihime was walking in front of the prince and her brother. She looked like she was in her dreamland. When Ichigo saw that they were out of Orihime's earshot, he asked Toushiro,

"So prodigy brat, what do you want for your achievement?

"Nothing," Toushiro said suspiciously.

"Nothing?" Ichigo questioned.

"Actually, I do want something. You keep your hands off my sister," Toushiro said.

"How is it that you asked me about the one thing you wouldn't get? Sorry, brat. But that I can't do," Ichigo smirked then walked away to catch up to Orihime.

Toushiro scowled.

The next day, Ichigo decided to go visit the Ishidas. He didn't really have anything to ask Chad. He actually wanted to visit Orihime again. But if he didn't go now, his father would just annoy him to death. He didn't have anything to counter his father since the king was absolutely right. He looked at Orihime who was standing next to him.

"Um...Ichigo-kun, what am I supposed to do after you leave?" asked Orihime.

"Do what you like. You can go to my room and read the books if you want. And don't go to the garden alone. Take someone with you. Just tell them that you want to go and they will take you there. I already gave them orders," Ichigo told her.

"A-Alright! I will be careful. And just ask someone from the village and they will show you Tatsuki-chan's house. But ask where the Arisawa house is. Please tell her I am fine and I will see her someday…..I think. Here, I wrote this letter for her so she will believe you," Orihime said sadly.

"I will. Maybe I will take you to see her one day. But that can't be now. You shouldn't leave the castle now. And be very very careful," Ichigo told her again, taking the letter and putting it in his pocket.

"I will, I promise! Let's go. You'll be late if you wait any longer," said Orihime and started walking.

Ichigo caught her wrist and said,

"Where are you going?"

Orihime gasped and Ichigo turned her around.

"T-T-To see you off?" Orihime said hesitantly.

"No. The main gate is too far way. You will have to walk back by yourself. I don't want you to walk around by yourself," said Ichigo, leaving no space for any argument.

"H-H-Hai," Orihime shakily replied.

Ichigo smiled and let go of her hand. He ruffled Orihime's hair fondly and left.

Orihime stood there for at least five minutes. Only after then, did she find any strength to move.

None of them noticed the dark figure that was listening to their conversation and watching them.

Orihime walked to the infirmary. She pushed the large door open and hesitantly stepped in. She looked around and saw no one.

"Unohana-san? A-Are you here?" she called out. Unohana stepped out of her office and rushed to the young girl.

"Orihime-chan? Are you hurt? Please sit down," Unohana took the auburn beauty to a chair.

"No, no. I am not hurt. I am perfectly fine. You see, Ichigo-kun isn't in the castle today. So I don't have anything to do. I was wondering if….i-if you c-could teach me…..um.." Orihime was hesitating. She didn't know how Unohana would react.

"Don't hesitate, Orihime-chan. Tell me," Unohana encouraged with a kind smile.

"The other day when Ichigo-kun came here after his spar, he made me promise not to ever ask him to come here. I agreed. But I just know that he will be injured in future again. So I just wanted to ask you if you could teach me how to treat those small cuts and wounds, please?" Orihime asked.

"Of course, Orihime-chan. Ichigo-san is very lucky to have a friend like you. Please follow me," Orihime thanked her and followed.

Ichigo was looking for someone to ask about the Arisawa house. He couldn't wait to go home. He stayed in the Ishida house for about an hour or two. He told Chad and Uryu about Orihime. Well…not everything like how she wouldn't leave his mind, but he told them about her and Toushiro. But the smartass Uryu of course made a comment about how he liked Orihime.

Ichigo finally found someone to show him the Arisawa house. He knocked on the door. A middle-aged lady opened the door. She had black hair and a kind face.

"May I help you?" she said.

"Hello. I am Ichigo. May I please see Ms. Arisawa Tatsuki?" Ichigo said politely.

"Of course. I am Tatsuki's mother. Please come in," said the lady.

Ichigo walked in. He noted that this house wasn't in much better condition than Orihime's. He sat down on the chair Mrs. Arisawa gestured him.

He sat there for about a minute then a girl walked in. She had spiky black hair and looked very angry.

"Who are you?" she asked. Ichigo could tell that she was upset about something.

"My name is Ichigo," Ichigo said. Tatsuki thought for a moment then looked at Ichigo.

"You are the guy that saved Orihime," she said as she sat down on another chair.

"Yes, that's me. I think you are upset about Orihime's kidnappi-" Ichigo started.

"How do you know about that?" Tatsuki asked suspiciously.

"Well, my name is Kurosaki Ichigo and-" Ichigo was interrupted again.

"YOU! YOU ARE THE PRINCE! DID YOU SEND YOUR DOGS TO KIDNAP ORIHIME?" Tatsuki shouted as she got up from her chair.

"Listen to me. I am the prince but I didn't send Nnoitra to kidnap Orihime. She is my friend. Orihime is safe. Nothing bad happened to her. I got her before Nnoitra could do anything. Toushiro is fine too. Here is Orihime's letter," Ichigo handed her the letter.

Tatsuki quickly took the letter and began to read it. It really was Orihime's handwriting. Tears poured down from Tatsuki's eyes. Ichigo was glad that Orihime had such a good friend.

"She is safe! Thank Kami. Orihime explained everything in the letter. I am happy for her and Toushiro. Are you really that kind? Orihime wrote how great you are about fifty times," Tatsuki smiled, relieved.

"I don't know if I am kind, but I promise, she will be safe with me. No one will ever try to harm her ever again," Ichigo promised her.

"And why would you do so much for her?" Tatsuki asked skeptically.

"She is my friend. And I don't want her to be in danger," Ichigo said, leaving the 'I like her' part in the back of his head.

"You like her, don't you?" Tatsuki unexpectedly said.

Ichigo was stunned. He slowly looked up to meet the violent woman's gaze. She smirked.

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo quickly said.

"I know you like her. You may not say it out loud because Orihime is an orphan and is from the poorest village. Prince or no prince, if Orihime ever gets hurt because of you, I will murder you," Tatsuki said raising her fist.

Ichigo was offended. Did this girl really think that he would care if she was orphan or poor?

"Listen, you are right. I do like Orihime, maybe 'like' isn't even the right word. Maybe it's more than 'like'. But I will never force her to like me or anything like that. She has and will have the freedom to choose. I want her to be safe and happy. She will never get hurt. So you don't have to murder me," Ichigo said without thinking.

Tatsuki smiled. She was glad that Orihime had someone to protect her.

"Thanks, Ichigo," said the spiky haired girl.

Before Ichigo could say anything else, Tatsuki's mother came in with some foods. Tatsuki jumped up and hugged her mother and started telling her about Orihime. Mrs. Arisawa was relieved as well. It was time for Ichigo to go.

"Listen, Ichigo. Orihime isn't just my best friend. She is my sister. Take care of her. If you are not going to be serious about your feelings, don't give her false hope. Don't take advantage of her innocence, please. Orihime is the nicest person in the whole world. Yet she is the one who had to struggle the most. She deserves peace, happiness," Tatsuki pleaded.

"Hey, I already told you. I will do everything to make her happy. Maybe, I will bring her with me next time," Ichigo said before taking off.

Orihime stayed in the infirmary the whole day. She learned a lot. Unohana was happy at her amazing progress in the very first day. Orihime thanked Unohana for the last time then left. She walked into Ichigo's room and organized everything that was out of place. Then she took a book from the bookshelf and started reading. After a while, she was walking back to her own room. She was anxious. She wanted to know how Tatsuki and everyone else is. She couldn't wait for Ichigo to return.

She turned in a corner and bumped into someone. Orihime fell back on the floor from the impact. She opened her eyes to see a tall man standing in front of her. He had shaggy brown hair. A smile appeared in his face.

"Orihime? Huh? My name is Ayato Kizuri," said the man.

Orihime got up from the floor. She never saw this person before. Orihime didn't know this person. Ichigo told her to not to talk anyone she hadn't already met.

"Hello, Ayato-san. It's nice to meet you. Excuse me, but I have to get going now," Orihime quickly said then started to walk past Ayato.

But she couldn't get too far because Ayato caught her wrist. Orihime looked at Ayato, horrified.

"Why are you in such a rush? Ichigo-sama isn't in the castle right now. Oh, I get it. You are going to get ready. So you can please him when he comes. Smart…," said Ayato, looking down at her.

"W-What are you talking about? Please let me go," Orihime said as she tried to free her hand.

"I can understand why he would keep you though. I mean with a body like that…I know I wouldn't mind-" he was interrupted when someone pulled him by the collar from the back and yanked him away from Orihime. Orihime found herself in the arms of the prince.

Ichigo was holding Orihime with one hand and the other hand was raise to emphasize his words.

"Ayato, if you ever look at her again, I will kill you. If I ever see you anywhere near her again, I will kill you so painfully that you would regret being born. If you ever touch her again, I will make your body a thousand pieces and feed it to the dogs. Now for everything you said, beg her to forgive you or I will kill you right now. Don't forget your place," Ichigo said in a dangerously low voice.

Ayato was shaking. Ichigo seemed to give off a dark aura that made Orihime's inside burn. She looked at those intense amber eyes. They seemed to scream murder.

"I-It's alright. A-Ayato-san, I-I forgive you," Orihime quickly said, trying to prevent Ayato's death.

"No! You, beg for your life. Don't look at her. Just beg," Ichigo said, cutting Orihime off.

"P-Please, forgive me. I beg you," Ayato said without looking at Orihime.

"I forgive you," Orihime quickly replied.

"Now, leave!" Ichigo growled and Ayato quickly ran for his life. Ichigo didn't let go of Orihime even after Ayato left. Orihime hesitantly looked at Ichigo.

"Ichigo-ku-" Orihime was harshly pulled after Ichigo. She gasped at the sudden harshness. Ichigo dragged her through the hallway. Orihime knew that he wouldn't hurt her. Ichigo isn't that kind of person. She quietly tried to keep up with the prince.

Ichigo's brain was working furiously. Ayato worked for Aizen's squad. What was he doing in the castle? As far as Ichigo knew, he had nothing to do in the castle. But seeing him holding Orihime and saying dirty things like that made him want to kill him right there. He would've done so as well if Orihime wasn't in there. But he didn't want to scare Orihime. He probably scared her already by telling Ayato about how he will kill him. She was probably terrified now because he was dragging her to somewhere. Even he didn't know where he was taking her. But his inside burned with the need to get her away from any other male.

He suddenly stopped.

Orihime bumped into Ichigo when he suddenly stopped. Orihime was flung backward after meeting the hard wall of the angry prince's back. Ichigo didn't turn around to face her. But his hand still held her wrist. Even more tightly than before. But before she could question, Ichigo started walking and dragging her again.

Ichigo couldn't help but suddenly stop when realization drowned into him. He knew he was attracted to Orihime. He knew he felt something for her. Only now he figured out what it was. He didn't 'like' her as he initially believed. He _loved_ her.

Him, Kurosaki Ichigo was in love with this innocent, shy girl.

He started walking when he felt that Orihime was going to ask him what's wrong. If Orihime really did ask him that, he would probably blurt out that he was in love with her. That could scare her even more than she already was.

He dragged her all the way to his room and opened it. Just like the day before, his room was clean and had a refreshing aura in it. He told Orihime to sit on one of the chair. He took the other one. He took some deep breaths to calm himself first.

"Ichigo-kun?" Orihime asked.

The orange haired prince looked at the auburn beauty that called him. That was a mistake. His eyes fell on her pink lips. This wasn't the first time he looked at her lips. But now that he knew he was in love with her, his eyes didn't seem to want to move from her lips like before. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to do something, anything to show everyone that she belonged to him. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Orihime talk.

"Ichigo-kun, thank you for standing up for me. But I am really not worth all of this. You already did enough for me. You don't have to –" she was stopped by Ichigo's hand. Just like the time in the infirmary, Ichigo pressed his palm in Orihime's mouth, effectively stopping her.

"Orihime, never say that again. You are worth it. From now on, I will make sure your safety. You are staying with me all the time and that's final," commanded Ichigo as he let og of Orihime.

"B-But I can't stay with you all the time. I have to sleep and talk to Toushiro and go to the infirmary-" Orihime immediately brought her hand to her mouth but the damage was done.

"Infirmary? Why do you have to go to the infirmary? Are you sick? How long have you been sick? Why didn't you tell me?" Orihime was bombarded with questions.

"I-Ichigo-kun, I am not sick, I promise!"

"Then tell me why you have to go to the infirmary?" Ichigo demanded to know.

"U-Um…w-well, since y-you don't want to go to the infirmary if you get hurt when sparring, I decided to learn how to treat small wounds and stuff like that," Orihime answered shyly.

"Y-You'd do that for me?" asked Ichigo surprised.

"Of course, Ichigo-kun. Since you were being stubborn about not going to the infirmary so I had to do something," Orihime pouted.

Ichigo was amazed. Orihime didn't have to do this. But she did. She cared about him. She cared for him. Then Ichigo remembered that they were forgetting the original topic.

"Oi! Fine! I will let you go to the infirmary but you will stay with me other times. You can sleep in your room. And before I forget, if you ever see someone you don't know already, just get out of there as quickly as you can. You don't need to say anything," said Ichigo.

"Yay! Thanks, Ichigo-kun. Now tell me all about Tatsuki-chan," Orihime asked.

"Ayato-san, you've messed up very badly, don't you think?" spoke Sousuke Aizen with a handsome smile.

"I-I-I a-a-apologize, Aizen-sama. Please forgive me," stuttered Ayato.

"Hmm… Itori-san, please escort Ayato-san to the punishment room where he will be taught how to not get carried away in mission." Aizen said calmly, the smile never leaving his face.

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Please please please review!

Aizen is finally showing up!

Thank you all for reading and reviewing!

Special thanks to...

**Zoe Whiteraven**: Here is your update! And I am glad you like Hitsukarin! Thanks for reviewing!:)

**Magdalena88**: Hahaha...anyone will melt in Orihime's puppy eyes! Ichigo will melt faster than anyone else! Haha..Thanks for reviewing! :)

**Ermilius**: Thanks!I am glad you are liking this story! :)

**Xtremefairy**: Thank you! And yup! How can Ichigo refuse Orihime's puppy-eyes! I hope you liked this one! :)

**AiiWoKoete**: Hahaha...Isshin really is hilarious! And thanks! Tensa Zangetsu with bunny ears! *faints* Hahaha..Thanks for waiting patiently! :)

**HellYus**: Aww..Thank you! I am glad you liked it. I hope you liked this chapter as well. :)

**Mariz**: Thank you! I am happy that I am improving! :)

**Guest**: First of all, I have to tell you that I just love long reviews! I actually meant the 'touching my stuff' literally. But after you elaborated, I was blushing so hard! And 'Courting Darkness' by Child of Ashes is one of my ultimate favorite story. And I agree about Toushiro in an uniform. I would probably pass out because of the cuteness! Your version of the morning scene was awesome. But I wanted to take things slowly. And I suck at writing intimate moments. Orihime and Toushiro's heritage will come up in one point of the story. I am not going to give it away right now! I do have plans for that. Here is your update. I hope you liked it! And yup, DeathBerryLover1995 really is awesome! :)

**cutsodeep**: You're most welcome! And Thanks! Orihime's heritage will come up in later chapters. It's actually very important. Thanks for reviewing! :)

See you next time everyone!

RainingLight1~


	8. Chapter 8

Konichiwa, Minna-san! I am back with chapter eight. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I never owned Bleach, I never will, sadly.

Over the next couple of days, Ichigo was spared from Isshin's morning attack. He couldn't be happier about it. Waking up to see Orihime everyone is something he didn't mind. He got used to it. Sometimes he even woke up before Orihime came but he pretended to to asleep just so he could hear her trying to wake him up. Ichigo smiled as he walked to the infirmary. Orihime went to the infirmary to learn from Unohana again. Since Unohana will be with her the whole time, Ichigo didn't go with her. Unohana can be very scary sometimes. And he would probably disrupt the lesson.

He looked around once he entered the infirmary. When he saw the infirmary empty, he guessed that they were in the office.

"Hey, Orihime, are you inside the office?" he said loudly.

He saw Orihime's head peeking out of the office.

"Ichigo-kun? Look what Unohana-san found!" she said cheerfully as she walked out of the office.

Ichigo's mouth dropped when Orihime walked out of the office. Orihime was standing in front of him wearing a nurse's uniform. The top part of the uniform was a white buttoned down shirt which emphasized her chest quite noticeably. Ichigo's cheeks became red instantly. The bottom part of the uniform was a white skirt that reached her knees. Orihime looked even more beautiful than usual. Ichigo blushed bright red.

"Don't I look like a real nurse?" Orihime's words brought him out of his trance. He looked at her saw her twirling around. Ichigo was unable to form a sentence.

Orihime suddenly stopped her twirling. Her cheeks reddened.

"U-Um…s-sorry, Ichigo-kun. I-It's time for me to go, right? So let's go!" Orihime said enthusiastically.

"Oi! You are not going to walk around with that outfit on! Go change!" Ichigo ordered. The red never leaving his cheeks.

"W-why? Does it look bad on me?" Orihime asked innocently.

'It looks too good on you and that's the problem! People are going to stare at you!' Ichigo thought.

But he didn't tell her that. There was no way he could explain something like that to Orihime without making a complete fool out of himself.

"Just please do it!" Ichigo said, not meeting the auburn beauty's gaze.

"H-hai!" Orihime said before going to change.

"I am going to train after I drop you off in the castle. You can read books in my room and don't go anywhere else on your own. Yuzu and Karin are probably paying around. If you are bored, then you can go to them or something. Do _not_ go _anywhere_ alone!" Ichigo said thoroughly as they were walking toward the castle after Orihime changed.

Ichigo wanted to bring Orihime with him to the training ground. But he won't be close to her while he trained. And he was pretty sure some jerks would try to hit on her if she was sitting there alone. And also he didn't want Orihime to see him beating up people in there. So he decided to make her stay in his room while he was gone. No one other than his family dared to enter his room. And his family was no threat to Orihime.

"I will! And if you get injured, I can treat them now! But try not to get injured, please." Orihime said kindly.

"Yeah, I will keep that in mind," Ichigo said with a small smile. He only left after Orihime was safe inside his room.

Orihime giggled at Ichigo's overprotectiveness. She wondered if he was like that with all of his friends or if it was just her. She quickly shook her head to get rid of the thought. But her cheeks turned red. Orihime softly laughed and looked at the bookshelf to choose a book to read.

Orihime didn't know how long she was sitting in Ichigo's room and reading. She got up to get another book from the bookshelf when Ichigo's bedroom door opened. Orihime looked at the door and saw an unfamiliar person standing there. He seemed to be just as surprised as Orihime.

Orihime's face went from surprised to scared. She remembered what Ichigo said. He said no one other than his family enters his room. Then who is this person? He looked scary. He was tall with spiky red hair that was tied up in a ponytail. But scary part about him was his forehead was covered with tattoo. He was frowning as well. Orihime thought about her options. She could run as soon as the person moves away from the door or she could stay here. But the problem was she had no idea who this person was or what he wanted. What if she was like Ayato-san? This person looked even more scary that Ayato.

"Who are you? And what are you doing in Ichigo's room? He doesn't let anyone enter his room," the red-headed said with a scowl.

"I-I…um.." Orihime wasn't supposed to talk to strangers. She screamed when the person started walking toward her and quickly ran out of the room.

Orihime kept running. She had no idea where she was going. She could hear the person calling her from behind. But she never looked back. She ran as fast as she could to get away. She turned around in a corner and crashed into someone. She closed her eyes quickly. She was falling back from the impact but someone caught her wrist to prevent her from falling. Orihime slowly opened her eyes.

"Orihime? Why are you running? What are you doing here all alone?" Ichigo said, looking down at her.

Orihime was breathing hard. She felt like she ran a mile. She did run really fast but she figured she was breathing this fast out of fear. Of course, she was scared of the person who was chasing her. But she was even more scared for that person now. If she told Ichigo that someone entered his room and she got scared because of him, Ichigo would probably hurt him.

"Tell me! Why were you running like that?" Ichigo demanded to know when Orihime didn't answer.

Orihime looked at Ichigo in the eye. She knew she couldn't lie.

"S-Someone came in your room. I didn't know him. So I ran out of your room but he was running behind me," Orihime quickly said.

"WHAT! Someone entered my room and scared you? Oh, he is dead," Ichigo said before walking toward the direction Orihime ran from.

Orihime quickly held his hand and pleaded him to not go.

"P-Please, d-don't hurt him. I think he was lost," Orihime tried to hold Ichigo back but he was way too strong for her.

"No, come with me and tell me which bastard decided to come in my room," said Ichigo, now he was dragging her behind him. Orihime was trying to hold him back.

Suddenly, a flying kick landed on Ichigo's head. He went flying to the floor.

"Ichigo! What do you think you are doing? Why are you dragging the poor girl? Are you trying to molest her?" came a girl's voice. Orihime looked at the owner of the voice and found a girl with violet eyes.

Ichigo got off from the floor and shouted at the girl,

"WHAT THE HELL, RUKIA? What are you doing here? Why did you kick me?"

Before Rukia could say anything else, the red headed man came in view.

He seemed to look around for something or rather someone.

"Where did she go? I saw her running in this direction?" he said.

Orihime looked at the person and let out another shriek.

"Oh there you are. Why did you run away?" said the red-head.

"Renji? What the hell are you two doing here? Wait, are you the one chasing Orihime?" Ichigo said.

Orihime was very confused now.

"Orihime? You mean the girl that was in your room?" Renji said suspiciously.

"Ichigo, you locked a girl in your room? How dare you do this to an innocent girl?" Rukia screamed.

"SHUT UP YOU TWO! Let me talk," Ichigo shouted to get their attention.

He walked toward the confused Orihime and said, "This is Orihime. Renji, did you come in my room?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah and I found that girl in there," Renji said accusingly.

"I knew this would've happened someday. Ugh…Orihime, that red-headed idiot over there is Renji. He is the pineapple-head, baboon I told you about," Ichigo said.

"That's Renji-kun? G-Gomen, I didn't know who you were. Please forgive my rudeness," Orihime bowed to Renji who just looked at her awkwardly.

"Why did you run away?" said Renji.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Rukia said not understanding what Renji or Ichgo was talking about.

"Let me explain. Orihime, this is Rukia. These two idiots are my friends. And you two, this is Orihime, my friend. I told her to run away from people that she didn't already know. She probably got scared of your punk-ass looks, Renji," Ichigo said with a smirk. "And I wasn't molesting her, Rukia. I was just going to see who was chasing her," Ichigo finished before anyone could interrupt him.

"Let's go inside. I will tell you the whole story," said Ichigo then started to walk toward his room again.

After hearing everything about how Ichigo knew Orihime, then the Nnoitra event and Orihime's permanent resident in the castle, Rukia hit Ichigo again.

"Oi! Why are you hitting me now?" Ichigo said irately.

"Why didn't you tell us about all this sooner, baka?" Rukia said before looking at Orihime. "Aww, you poor soul, you went through so much! And now you have to take care of the orange haired idiot over there," Rukia said as she patted Orihime's head.

"WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT SUPPOSE TO MEAN?" Ichigo's shout was ignored.

"Rukia-chan, Ichigo-kun is really nice," Orihime defended Ichigo.

"Well, maybe to you he is. But this strawberry isn't nice to anyone else," Renji said.

That remark quickly started a fight as Ichigo said some not-so-nice things. Rukia and Orihime quickly became best friends.

Later, after lunch, Rukia was showing Orihime all the chappy drawings she did. Ichigo and Renji were sitting in the other side of the room.

"Why didn't you guys let me know earlier that you were coming to visit?" said Ichigo.

"Rukia thought we should surprise you but I guess we are the ones who were surprised. I have to say, you did something right for a change. She is a real catch," grinned Renji.

"Shut up. She already suffered enough from creeps," Ichigo said fumingly.

"You like her, don't you?"

"What the hell? Is there a sign on my back saying that 'I like her' or did everyone else become mind reader?" Ichigo grumbled. He knew that Renji and Rukia would know for sure. They knew him very well.

"The way you are being all possessive, any dumbass could figure it out. So does she know?" Renji smirked when Ichigo looked nervous.

"No and if either you or Rukia ever say anything about it, you two will be history. I will tell her when time comes," Ichigo said and Renji just laughed.

The engaged couple decided to leave in the afternoon. After hugging Orihime, Rukia looked at Ichigo.

"You better tell her soon, Ichigo. You fell too deep to ignore it now," said Rukia before leaving with Renji.

"What was Rukia-chan talking about, Ichigo-kun?" Orihime asked eagerly.

"N-nothing. Let's go inside," Ichigo said before walking away.

"Wow! I never thought I would see this," commented Rukia as she and Renji were riding on the carriage.

"See what?" Renji asked dumbly and instantly received a punch on his head by his future wife.

"See Ichigo in love, you idiot," Rukia said irately.

"Oh yeah. I was starting to think he was gay or something," Renji smirked.

"Orihime is the perfect choice. He finally did something good by keeping her. Only thing he has to do now is tell her. But knowing him, that will probably take a long time," said Rukia completely ignoring Renji's remark.

"He will tell her when he can't keep it to himself anymore. I am very sure he is already suffering by now," Renji said with a serious face.

"Suffering? What are you talking about?" Rukia asked.

"He knows," Renji grinned.

"Whatever," Rukia said before resting her head on Renji's shoulder. Renji, in response, stroked the violet-eyed-beauty's hair.

Over the next couple of months, Orihime got used to the castle and all the royal affairs. Most of all, she got used to Ichigo. She learned many things about Ichigo. Like, when he slept, his face seemed so peaceful, innocent. She also found his scowl adorable. She noticed, he scowled a lot. Weather it was to look tough or if he was always mad, she didn't know. But she guessed he just didn't want people to know how much of a kind person he really is. And he was never mad at her. He never yelled at her when she accidently splashed him with a glass of water that she was carrying. Or when she accidently banged her head against his. Even though he said it didn't hurt, Orihime guessed it probably hurt a whole lot. Even she knew how hard her head was.

Orihime also found out that Ichigo can be very stubborn. He can be quite scary at times as well. Specially, when he was glaring at those men that worked in the garden. She asked him why he was mad at them and he said they weren't working. Orihime didn't ask anything else.

She also found herself spending more and more time with the prince, just like he promised. Ichigo took her to visit many beautiful places around Seireitei. Ichigo took her to see a beautiful waterfall once and they splashed around in the water all day. Orihime had a lot of fun that day. Another day, Ichigo took her to see a big land area filled with flowers. Miles after miles filled with colorful flowers. Orihime couldn't believe her eyes when she saw it at first. She didn't know such beautiful place could exist. Ichigo asked her to pack lunch for them. It was like a picnic. Orihime made lots of flower necklaces and brought them back for the princesses.

Orihime didn't know when she started to like him even more than she already had.

Orihime also kind of became friends with a girl named Hatsu. Kaoru worked in the castle. She was a maid. Orihime met her one day when she was cleaning one of the hallways of the castle. When Hatso saw her, she smiled and introduced herself. That happened on Orihime's second day in the castle. After meeting her, Orihime didn't see her for couple of days. Then she saw her again when she was walking in the garden. But for some reason, Ichigo didn't like Hatso and when Orihime asked why, he just said she can't be trusted.

But Ichigo was like that to everyone. Orihime still talked to Hatso is they met. She didn't have a reason to not to.

Overall, life with the royalties was great.

"Um…Ichigo-kun, where are we going today?" Orihime asked softly.

"Today, we are going to see Urahara-san and Yoruichi-san." Answered Ichigo.

"Yoruichi-san? The person that thought you swordsmanship?" asked Orihime.

"That's the one. Urahara-san and Yoruichi-san live in the other side of Seireitei. Two kids live with them as well. Also another person named Tessai stays there as well. You know, the Tessai-san that brought Toushiro to school," explained Ichigo.

"A-Are they…. a family?" Orihime wondered.

"Pretty much. Urahara-san and Youroichi-san are married. But the two kids I told you about are adopted. And I have no idea how Tessai comes in the picture. I once asked Youroichi-san why she doesn't want to be called Mrs. Urahara and she said that name makes her feel less though. Women….." Ichigo said, shaking his head.

Orihime giggled when she saw Ichigo shaking his head.

"What? All of them are crazy. Youroichi-san, Rukia, your friend Tatsuki…..all of them. But the craziest one is you," Ichigo said as he continued to shake his head.

"Hey! How am I crazy?" Orihime pouted.

"Who lets a complete stranger stay in their house? But tell me, did you let anyone else stay in your house other than me?" Ichigo asked quickly.

"I let Tatsuki-chan and Hana-chan…why?" Orihime asked innocently.

"Anyone else….I mean…any other guy?" Ichigo asked as he looked away from her.

"N-No….No one other than you ever saved me. And besides, Toushiro-kun wouldn't let them stay. He only let you stay because you saved me and he thought you were a good person," said Orihime with a blush.

"How did he know that I was a good person?" Ichigo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know. Maybe, he asked the little blue men if you were one?" Orihime said as she put a finger on the chin and started thinking.

Ichigo looked at her and smiled. Orihime can be very silly. He loved to see that cute expression. He only broke her thoughts when they arrived in Urahara's place.

"Orihime, we arrived," said Ichigo.

"That was fast," Orihime said as she looked around.

"Well, let's go in," Ichigo said as he pulled Orihime into the house. "URAHARA-SAN, YOUROICHI-SAN, WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?"

"Kurosaki-san? Long time no see! It seems you have a lovely lady with you," said Urahara Kisuke as he came out from one of the rooms with a fan in his hand.

"H-Hello, Urahara-san. I am Orihime," Orihime bowed politely.

"Hello, Orihime-san! You are just as lovely as I heard," said Urahara with a smile and Orihime blushed.

"Dad told me to give you this," said Ichigo a little irritated, as he hand the blond-haired man an envelope. Ichigo knew that Kisuke Urahara was his father's best friend the right hand man of the king. He didn't understand why his father wouldn't give that envelope to Urahara when they had meeting. Or why his father sent him with the envelop? But he chose not to think about it. He always knew that his father did crazy things.

"Ara ara….mail from the king! Yoruicihi-san! Look, your favorite student came to see you," Urahara called out. "Please have a seat and I'll go send Yoruichi-san!"

"Ano…why is Urahara-san calling his wife Yoruichi-san?" questioned Orihime.

"They are crazy," Ichigo simply answered.

"Oh, Ichigo. Looks like you finally found a girl," said Yoruichi as she came inside the room. He had a big grin plastered on her mouth.

Both Ichigo and Orihime blushed bright red. Orihime looked at a beautiful lady.

"S-Shut up! This is Orihime and Orihime, she is Yoruichi-san," Ichigo grumbled.

"It's very nice to meet you, Yoruichi-san," Orihime bowed to Youroichi.

"What a polite girl. You could learn a thing or two from her, Ichigo," laughed Ichigo's master as she patted Orihime's head. Ichigo scowled deeper.

"Now that I am done giving that envelop to Urahara-san, we will leave," Ichigo said annoyedly.

"You are not running away before I see if you improved your swordsmanship skill," Youroichi said firmly.

"Whatever. I know I can beat you at least," said Ichigo proudly.

"Dream on, punk," Youroichi taunted.

Before Ichigo could reply his sensei, a man entered the place.

"Hello, Ichimaru-san," Youroichi greeted the old man.

"I hope you are doing well, Ichimaru-san," Ichigo said politely.

Orihime looked at the old man in surprise. There was something familiar about this person but Orihime couldn't figure out what. She didn't know how she should greet him either.

"Hello, Urahara-san, Kurosaki-sama," the old man said. Then his eyes fell on Orihime.

Noticing this, Ichigo quickly introduced the two.

"Oh, Ichimaru-san, this is my friend, Orihime and Orihime, this is Ichimaru-san, the head of the Ichimaru family."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Orihime bowed politely.

"The pleasure is all mine," Ichimaru Haruo's eyes widened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading and reviewing everyone. I hope you all enjoyed!

I am sorry about this late update. But I was watching Clannad and Clannad After Story and I was so sad. I was crying. I felt like I would ruin this story if I started writing in my depressed mood. But Nagisa and Ushio were both alive at the end of the series (sorry, if this was a spoiler) and I was so happy that I was crying with joy. Anyway, please forgive my lateness.

I have to say, I was laughing the entire time when I was typing the part when Orihime was being chased by Renji.

Please leave a review!

Special thanks to...

**Magdalena88**:Yay! My writing has gotten better! Yahoo! Thank you! :) But m-me...writing a l-lemon fic? That's a disaster. I have no experience in that matter. I don't think I will ever have the confidence to write a lemon. (I am a loser) Lol. But thank you sooooooo much! You really encouraged me! :)

**Soli Romero**:Thank you for your lovely review! And sorry about the lateness. I will try to make it quick next time! I hope you liked this chapter! :)

**DeathBerryLover1995**: Hahaha..You make me laugh all the time! And my family officially thought I was crazy ever since I found out about fanfiction. Your version of perverted Ichigo is just too...AWESOME! And about the punishment room, I had to read your review twice to understand what you meant. I didn't even think of that. Haha...You said my writing improved! Thank you so much! I guess Tatsuki was thinking if she seriously injured Ichigo then he might hurt Orihime! Thank you very very much, my always and forever awesome DeathBerrryLover1995-sama! Here is the update! I hope you liked it!:)

**Cutsodeep**: I also love possessive Ichigo as well! You will learn about Aizen's plan soon enough! Here is the update! I hope you liked it! Thanks for the review! :)

**Xtremefairy**: Thank you! And you will learn about Aizen's evilness in later chapters! I hope you liked this chapter!:)

**KurosakiCrystal18**: Thank you! Thank you very much for reading and reviewing! Here is the update! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! :)

**Ermilus**: Yup! Aizen is back! And his plan will be revealed in later chapters! Thank you for adding this story to your favorite list! :)

**jylener22**: Thanks! I am glad you liked this idea! I hope you liked this chapter as well. :)

**HellYus**: I am glad you like this story! Here is the update. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too. :) And don't forget to update At the Hands of a Hollow! :)

See you next time, Minna-san!

RainingLight1~


	9. Chapter 9

Hello Minna-san! I..um..kind of back.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I wish I did...

* * *

"Ichimaru-san," said Sousuke Aizen as he walked toward the elder.

"Captain Aizen," Ichimaru acknowledged his presence. "I know what you've been doing." The elder went straight to the point.

'My dear Ichimaru-san, you only know because I let you know,' Aizen smiled inwardly.

"Oh?" he said aloud.

"Yes, and I would like to help you," Ichimaru family-head said as he looked in Aizen's cold brown eyes.

"And how might that be?" Aizen said with a smile.

"I am the head of one of the noble families in this kingdom. Is my mere presence not enough?" Ichimaru Haruo said coldly.

"Of course, of course!" Aizen said as he continued to smile.

* * *

"No," Ichigo said.

"But…please, Onni-chan!" Yuzu pleaded.

"I said no!" Ichigo said again.

"Well, Orihime-chan and Toushiro are coming with us," said Karin and smirked.

"Who gave you permission to take Orihime with you?" Ichigo asked, crocking a brow.

"We asked her and she said 'yes,' right, Orihime-chan?!" Yuzu said quickly.

Orihime and Toushiro were standing a little farther way a listening to the royalties.

The princesses wanted Ichigo to go to the picnic with them. They asked Ichigo if he could take them next time he goes. Of course Ichigo refused.

"Yes! Ichigo-kun, please go. Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan really want you to come!" Orihime said softly as she made the puppy eyes.

Ichigo knew that his decision was made the second he saw Orihime make those eyes again. How could he say no?

Ichigo knew what this was all about. Probably, his idiot dad set his sisters up for this. Ichigo normally didn't go to picnics. His parents wanted him to come. So they asked his sisters to convince Orihime and Toushiro to come with them. His father knew very well that he would go if Orihime went. There was no way, he would NOT go if Orihime went.

"Ugh, fine! I'll go. Happy now?" Ichigo said.

"Yay! Arigatou, Onni-chan!" Yuzu hugged her brother.

"See, Orihime-chan. I told you Ichi-nii would agree to go if you said," Karin smirked when she saw a tiny blush covering Orihime's cheeks.

"Karin-chan!" Yuzu scolded her twin sister for giving away their secret.

"It's alright. I knew you set her up and I already said I would go," Ichigo said as he smiled.

With that, the Yuzu hugged Orihime who hugged the younger girl back. Karin also joined them when Orihime gestured her to join the group hug.

Toushiro looked from the girls to Ichigo.

"Not so tough now, eh?" Toushiro smirked.

"Oh, look Toushiro-kun! Orihime is calling you for the group hug," Ichigo smirked back.

Before Toushiro knew it, he was pulled to the group hug by Karin. Karin smirked at the white-haired boy's horrified expression and Yuzu and Orihime laughed. Ichigo also smiled when he heard Orihime laugh. He also felt a little sad that he wasn't part of the hug. As silly as it might sound, Ichigo actually wanted to be a part of the hug.

His sadness soon disappeared when Orihime looked in his direction and smiled. She waved at him, gesturing him to join her. He gladly walked toward her and joined the group hug. Everyone laughed.

The hug only ended when they heard the sound of paper dropping on the floor. They looked up and saw Hanataro. Hanataro looked like he saw a ghost. He rubbed his eyes with his hands.

Everyone laughed.

"No, Hanataro, You aren't going crazy. Ichi-nii really was a part of the group hug," Karin smirked.

Hanataro fainted and Ichigo scowled.

"You were right, daddy! Onee-chan really agreed to come when Orihime-chan asked him to come!" Yuzu beamed as she hugged her father.

"Yes, my princess! Daddy is a genius!" Isshin cried with happiness.

"I KNEW YOU WERE BEHIND ALL THIS!" Ichigo yelled at his father.

"Thank you, Orihime-chan! Ichigo doesn't normally go to things like this," Masaki smiled at Orihime.

"E-Eh! I-I just asked him to come. I didn't do anything special," Orihime protested with a blush. Masaki smiled again.

"AND STAY DOWN!" Ichigo kicked his father for one last time then turned to his mother. "Mom, when are we going to the picnic?"

"Isshin said he can make time on the day after tomorrow. So I am guessing that day is final unless you have something to do," Masaki said softly.

"No, I am free. Where are we going anyway?"

"I thought we should go to the river-side on the west. We used to go there quite often when you were little," the queen replied with a smile.

* * *

Orihime was having fun. She never imagined a picnic could be so…grand. Carriage after carriage filled with guards came with them. Many boxes filled with food and many other things. Then again, it was a royal picnic. She reasoned this was to be expected. The river-side was a beautiful place. She would've never learned about such beautiful places if she didn't meet Ichigo. And she was thankful for that. Not only to Ichigo but the whole royal family.

The princesses and Orihime were picking flowers after their lunch. The king and queen were talking about some royal matter and Ichigo and Toushiro were trying to beat each other at some silly games. Everyone was relaxed. Suddenly, a guard ran toward them and told the king something that made the king a little surprised and worried. He gave the graud his order and he left.

"Ichigo, it seems Mrs. Ichimaru had a carriage accident nearby and she is in the care of our guards. Your mom and I are going to see if she is alright," said the king.

"Mrs. Ichimaru? We will come with you. She has always been kind to me," replied Ichigo.

The royal family, Orihime and Toushiro went to see the noble. It wasn't a severe accident. The Lady of the Ichimaru household only received a gash on her forehead and she was immediately tended by the royal guards. When she saw the king, she immediately apologized for causing them inconvenience.

"You majesty, I apologize for causing you inconvenience during your relaxing time. There was no need for you to come see an old lady like me," she said with a smile.

"Madam, it was no inconvenience. It is my duty as the king to look out for the well being of my people," The king replied.

The the lady's eyes fell on Orihime and Toushio who were standing next to the royalties. The Lady of the Ichimaru house keenly observed them for a moment and then her eyes widened.

"Your majesty, if I may ask, who are these two children? I've never seen them before," she asked, her eyes never leaving the two children.

"They are Ichigo's friends, madam. You have not seen them before because they were recently brought to live with us from the village called Mushashima. They are practically family," the king replied.

The lady's eyes widened even more. Both the king and the queen noticed this. The question was, did her eyes widen because the two children were from the same village Ichimaru Gin lived in or was there more to the story?

* * *

Orihime was exhausted by the end of the day. She lied down on her bed but couldn't fall asleep. She thought about the old lady she met. She couldn't put her finger on it but there was something oddly familiar about this old lady. Orihime fell asleep at some point. She dreamed about her parents and when they were still alive. She saw her parents smiling, their eyes twinkling with happiness. Orihime woke up with a gasp.

The old lady had the same beautiful blue eyes as her father.

Morning came. Orihime, as usual went to wake up the prince. On the way, she bumped into her little brother. Toushiro was just walking around the corridor.

"Shiro-kun? You already woke up?" Orihime questioned.

"Yes, sis. I didn't sleep very well last night."

"Why? Are you not feeling well, Shiro-kun?" Orihime questioned worriedly.

"No, no. Sis, you know the lady from yesterday, didn't she have the same colored eyes as dad?"

"Shiro-kun, honestly, I was thinking about the same thing last night. Dad had such beautiful eyes," Orihime smiled at the thought.

"Coincidence, I suppose. By the way, sis, you are going to be late waking up that lazy-ass," Toushiro stated as a matter-of-fact.

"Oh no!" Orihime sprinted toward the prince's room.

_Coincidence, is it really?_ The question kept coming back to Toushiro's head.

* * *

Lady Akemi had a sad life. She was married off to the Ichimaru head when she was barely twenty. It was not a love marriage. It was a marriage for convenience. However, she was able to fit in with her husband, Ichimaru Haruo. She became the mother of Ichimaru Gin when she was twenty-five. Gin was a talented child. Akemi couldn't have been happier. She watched as her little child grew up. Her happiness did not last. Her son fell in love with a commoner. Ichimaru family was a very conservative family who cared about tradition and status more than anyone else. Her son was going to be killed but only her cries and pleading prevented it. She only saw her daughter-in-law once. But she would always remember that beautiful face. She was glad that her son was at least alive. Even if he was living like a mere peasant. But her happiness was yet again taken away. When she got the news that a group of bandits killed her san and her daughter-in-law by her secret informant. She wasn't even able to show her sadness because no one in the Ichimaru household knew that she still hadn't cut ties with her son. When she saw the two children with the royalties, she could not believe her eyes. When she learned where they came from, she had no doubts.

Those two children were her grandchildren.

Ichimaru Haruo was in a great distress. After all these years, nuisances appeared to interfere with his household again. He couldn't stand peasant blood. They were filthy and deserved to be treated like trash. The second he saw that girl with the auburn hair, he just knew she was his grand-daughter. His grand-daughter who had peasant blood in her. Because her mother was a orphan peasant. Haruo reasoned that the girl did not know of her heritage nor did the royal family.

The royal family.

The whole lot of them were peasant loving creatures and were not fit to run the kingdom. He could not bare how Kurosaki Isshin seemed to think peasants were to be treated as human. He had tolerated with him till now because his father had listened to what he had to say and did not help that retched village called Mushashima. But he will not tolerate anymore. If the girl finds out that she was a descendent from the Ichimaru family, she will for sure try to cause problem. He could not have that.

Only one that can help him is Sousuke Aizen, an ambitious bastard of a captain. His distress only increased when he received the news that the girl had a younger brother.

* * *

Sousuke Aizen was an interesting man. He was born in a poor family. He saw what poverty was. He knew what it was like to not eat for days. He knew what pain was because his scum-bag father. His father was a sadist bastard who hit him all the time and beat his mom for no apparent reason. He hated his father, the poverty, the pain. He was talented ever since he was young. He was smart and handsome. He was a great swordsman as well. And that is how he was able to get into the royal army. He wasn't poor anymore. His dad wasn't there to beat him anymore because he finally died. He thought he could be happy. But he couldn't. His ambition kept urging him to go further, to become more powerful. He hated his past. He hated peasants.

He eventually became a captain. His ambition still did not stop. He had to have more power. His lust for power couldn't be satiated by that captain position. Then he finally acknowledged it. He knew what he really wanted. He wanted the whole kingdom. He wanted everyone at his mercy. That wouldn't be possible if he wasn't the king. But Kurosaki Isshin was loved by the peasants and the nobles alike. He also maintained good relationships with foreign kingdoms. There was no way Aizen would win the throne by using sheer force. That was why he planned for all those years.

He needed help from at least one noble family. And he finally found a way.

Aizen looked at the distant sky with the handsome smile still plastered on his face.

* * *

Um...hehe...e-eto...

P-PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!

I am very sorry for not updating in about an year. I was very busy with school work. Junior year in high school is the hardest thing I have ever done. Currently I am in spring break. So... I probably lost all the readers. I won't be surprised. You guys were with me and then I let you down. Gomen.

School will be over soon for summer vacation and then I will be able to spend more time with this story. I know this chapter was very short. But I just wanted to see if people still reads this story. I am sorry guys. I feel very bad.

I hope you can all forgive me, onegai.

**Orihime:** Please, forgive her. *Puppy-dog eyes*

Hahaha...(nervous laugh...) I hope you guys are still with me...

Adios! I will definitely come back with new chapter.

I am sorry again.

RainingLight~


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